Enhanced multimode fibers provide headroom for network designs

Jan. 25, 2006
January 25, 2006 Norcross, GA -- OFS announced that it has improved the optical and geometric specifications for its multimode fiber products. The company says the enhancements are designed to provide extra power "headroom," for demanding 1-Gbit/sec and 10-Gbit/sec premises applications, allowing for greater network design flexibility and reliability.

January 25, 2006 Norcross, GA -- OFS announced that it has improved the optical and geometric specifications for its multimode fiber products. The company says the enhancements are designed to provide extra power "headroom," for demanding 1-Gbit/sec and 10-Gbit/sec premises applications, allowing for greater network design flexibility and reliability.

"By lowering the loss in a fiber link, these improvements can allow users to extend the reach of their networks, add additional connections, make use of higher loss connectors, and achieve greater reliability," explains Andrew Oliviero, senior product manager for OFS. "Since Channel Insertion Loss budgets have been decreasing with each successive increase in Gigabit Ethernet speeds, we thought it was critical to improve our specifications to provide users with greater headroom."

For its line of 50-µm multimode fibers, including its LaserWave OM3 fibers for 10-Gbit/sec transmission, the company has lowered the 850-nm attenuation specification from < 2.4 dB/km to < 2.3 dB/km. For both its 50-µm and 62.5-µm multimode fibers, the company has lowered the 1300-nm attenuation specification from < 0.7 dB/km to < 0.6 dB/km. The company says these enhancements will help fiber-optic cable manufacturers minimize the attenuation in their cables while providing end users with low-loss links in their systems.

In addition, the company has reduced the core/clad concentricity error in its multimode fibers from <1.5-µm to < 1.0-µm on both 50-µm and 62.5-µm fibers. The company says this allows for better core-to-core alignment in connectors and splices, thereby reducing the loss at these connections. The company says this enhancement can also help lower total link loss, providing extra "headroom" for design flexibility and reliability.

The company says it's able to realize these improvements through the use of its patented Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) fiber manufacturing process. According to the company, the process is optimally suited for creating the precision refractive index profiles required for today's high performance laser-optimized multimode fiber, such as the company's LaserWave 550 fiber, which capable of 10G transmission at 850-nm to distances beyond 550 meters.

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