Plastic-clad silica fiber

In telecommunication, a plastic-clad silica fiber (PCS) is an optical fiber that has a silica-based core and a plastic cladding.

Note 1: The cladding of a PCS fiber should not be confused with the polymer overcoat of a conventional all-glass fiber.

Note 2: PCS fibers in general have significantly lower performance characteristics, i.e., higher transmission losses and lower bandwidths, than all-glass fibers. Synonym polymer-clad silica fiber.

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C