Plastic optical fiber
Encyclopedia
Plastic optical fiber (or Polymer optical fibre) is an optical fiber
which is made out of plastic
. Traditionally PMMA (acrylic) is the core material, and fluorinated polymers are the cladding
material. Since the late 1990s however, much higher-performance POF based on perfluorinated polymers (mainly polyperfluorobutenylvinylether) has begun to appear in the marketplace.
In large-diameter fibers, 96% of the cross section is the core that allows the transmission of light. Similar to traditional glass fiber, POF transmits light (or data) through the core of the fiber. The core size of POF is in some cases 100 times larger than glass fiber.
POF has been called the "consumer" optical fiber because the fiber and associated optical links, connectors, and installation are all inexpensive. Due to the attenuation and distortion characteristics of the traditional PMMA fibers are commonly used for low-speed, short-distance (up to 100 meters) applications in digital home appliances, home networks, industrial networks (PROFIBUS
, PROFINET
), and car networks (MOST). The perfluorinated polymer fibers are commonly used for much higher-speed applications such as data center wiring and building LAN
wiring.
In relation to the future request of high-speed home networking, there has been an increasing interest in POF as a possible option for next-generation Gigabit/s links inside the house. To this end, several European Research projects are active, such as POF-ALL http://www.ist-pof-all.org and POF-PLUS http://www.ict-pof-plus.eu/.
The German Standarization body VDE/DKE is currently developing a Gigabit communication standard for POF aimed towards Home networking applications. The Working Group (412.7.1) will release a pre-standard at the beginning of 2012 which will also be an IEC norm. Future plans will be to promote the standard to an international body like ETSI or IEEE. http://www.vde.com/EN/DKE/STD/PROJECTS/POF/Pages/default.aspx
The future Gigabit POF standard is based on multilevel PAM modulation a Frame structure, Tomlinson-Harashima Precoding and Multilevel coset coding modulation. The combination of all these techniques has proven to be the most efficient way of achieving low cost implementations at the same time that the transmission theoretical maximum capacity of the POF is approached.
Other alternatives like DMT, PAM-2 NRZ, DFE equalization or PAM-4 have inferior performance and lead to more expensive implementations.
For telecommunication
s, the more difficult-to-use glass optical fiber is more common. This fiber has a core made of germania-doped silica. Although the actual cost of glass fibers are similar to the plastic fiber, their installed cost is much higher due to the special handling and installation techniques required.
One of the most exciting developments in polymer fibers has been the development of microstructured polymer optical fibers (mPOF), a type of photonic crystal fiber.
POF fiber also has applications in sensing. It is possible to write Fiber Bragg grating
in single and multimode mode POF. There are advantages in doing this over using silica fiber since the POF can be stretched further without breaking, some applications are described in the PHOSFOS
project page.
POF in short:
I. Möllers, D. Jäger, R. Gaudino, A. Nocivelli, H. Kragl, O. Ziemann, N. Weber, T. Koonen, C. Lezzi, A. Bluschke, S. Randel, “Plastic Optical Fiber Technology for Reliable Home Networking – Overview and Results of the EU Project POF-ALL,” IEEE Communications Magazine, Optical Communications Series, Vol.47, No.8, pp.58-68, August 2009
R. Pérez de Aranda, O. Ciordia, C. Pardo, “A standard for Gigabit Ethernet over POF. Product Implementation”, Proc. of POF Conference 2011. Bilbao
S. Randel, C. Bunge, “Spectrally Efficient Polymer Optical Fiber Transmission”, Coherent Optical Communications, Subsystems and Systems, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7960
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
which is made out of plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
. Traditionally PMMA (acrylic) is the core material, and fluorinated polymers are the cladding
Cladding (fiber optics)
Cladding is one or more layers of material of lower refractive index, in intimate contact with a core material of higher refractive index. The cladding causes light to be confined to the core of the fiber by total internal reflection at the boundary between the two. Light propagation in the...
material. Since the late 1990s however, much higher-performance POF based on perfluorinated polymers (mainly polyperfluorobutenylvinylether) has begun to appear in the marketplace.
In large-diameter fibers, 96% of the cross section is the core that allows the transmission of light. Similar to traditional glass fiber, POF transmits light (or data) through the core of the fiber. The core size of POF is in some cases 100 times larger than glass fiber.
POF has been called the "consumer" optical fiber because the fiber and associated optical links, connectors, and installation are all inexpensive. Due to the attenuation and distortion characteristics of the traditional PMMA fibers are commonly used for low-speed, short-distance (up to 100 meters) applications in digital home appliances, home networks, industrial networks (PROFIBUS
Profibus
PROFIBUS is a standard for field bus communication in automation technology and was first promoted in 1989 by BMBF...
, PROFINET
PROFINET IO
PROFINET is the open industrial Ethernet standard of PROFIBUS & PROFINET International for automation. PROFINET uses TCP/IP and IT standards, and is, in effect, real-time Ethernet....
), and car networks (MOST). The perfluorinated polymer fibers are commonly used for much higher-speed applications such as data center wiring and building LAN
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
wiring.
In relation to the future request of high-speed home networking, there has been an increasing interest in POF as a possible option for next-generation Gigabit/s links inside the house. To this end, several European Research projects are active, such as POF-ALL http://www.ist-pof-all.org and POF-PLUS http://www.ict-pof-plus.eu/.
The German Standarization body VDE/DKE is currently developing a Gigabit communication standard for POF aimed towards Home networking applications. The Working Group (412.7.1) will release a pre-standard at the beginning of 2012 which will also be an IEC norm. Future plans will be to promote the standard to an international body like ETSI or IEEE. http://www.vde.com/EN/DKE/STD/PROJECTS/POF/Pages/default.aspx
The future Gigabit POF standard is based on multilevel PAM modulation a Frame structure, Tomlinson-Harashima Precoding and Multilevel coset coding modulation. The combination of all these techniques has proven to be the most efficient way of achieving low cost implementations at the same time that the transmission theoretical maximum capacity of the POF is approached.
Other alternatives like DMT, PAM-2 NRZ, DFE equalization or PAM-4 have inferior performance and lead to more expensive implementations.
For telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s, the more difficult-to-use glass optical fiber is more common. This fiber has a core made of germania-doped silica. Although the actual cost of glass fibers are similar to the plastic fiber, their installed cost is much higher due to the special handling and installation techniques required.
One of the most exciting developments in polymer fibers has been the development of microstructured polymer optical fibers (mPOF), a type of photonic crystal fiber.
POF fiber also has applications in sensing. It is possible to write Fiber Bragg grating
Fiber Bragg grating
A fiber Bragg grating is a type of distributed Bragg reflector constructed in a short segment of optical fiber that reflects particular wavelengths of light and transmits all others. This is achieved by adding a periodic variation to the refractive index of the fiber core, which generates a...
in single and multimode mode POF. There are advantages in doing this over using silica fiber since the POF can be stretched further without breaking, some applications are described in the PHOSFOS
PHOSFOS
PhosFOS is a research and technology development project co-funded by the European Commission.-Project Description:The PHOSFOS project is developing flexible and stretchable foils or skins that integrate optical sensing elements with optical and electrical devices as well as onboard signal...
project page.
POF in short:
- PMMA & PolystyrenePolystyrenePolystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
are used as fiber core, with refractive indices of 1.49 & 1.59 respectively. - Generally, fiber cladding is made of siliconeSiliconeSilicones are inert, synthetic compounds with a variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant and rubber-like, they are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medical applications , cookware, and insulation....
resin (refractive index ~1.46). - High refractive indexRefractive indexIn optics the refractive index or index of refraction of a substance or medium is a measure of the speed of light in that medium. It is expressed as a ratio of the speed of light in vacuum relative to that in the considered medium....
difference is maintained between core and cladding. - POF have high numerical apertureNumerical apertureIn optics, the numerical aperture of an optical system is a dimensionless number that characterizes the range of angles over which the system can accept or emit light. By incorporating index of refraction in its definition, NA has the property that it is constant for a beam as it goes from one...
. - Have high mechanical flexibility and low cost.
Literature
Ziemann, O., Krauser, J., Zamzow, P.E., Daum, W.: POF Handbook - Optical Short Range Transmission Systems. 2nd ed., 2008, Springer, 884 p. 491 illus. in color, ISBN: 978-3-540-76628-5I. Möllers, D. Jäger, R. Gaudino, A. Nocivelli, H. Kragl, O. Ziemann, N. Weber, T. Koonen, C. Lezzi, A. Bluschke, S. Randel, “Plastic Optical Fiber Technology for Reliable Home Networking – Overview and Results of the EU Project POF-ALL,” IEEE Communications Magazine, Optical Communications Series, Vol.47, No.8, pp.58-68, August 2009
R. Pérez de Aranda, O. Ciordia, C. Pardo, “A standard for Gigabit Ethernet over POF. Product Implementation”, Proc. of POF Conference 2011. Bilbao
S. Randel, C. Bunge, “Spectrally Efficient Polymer Optical Fiber Transmission”, Coherent Optical Communications, Subsystems and Systems, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7960
External links
- NYCE Networks: Guide to Ethernet networking with Plastic Optical Fiber
- Plastic Optical Fiber Applications: Video surveillance and Ethernet
- Basics of Plastic Optical Fiber
- Ethernet over Plastic Optical Fiber technology
- Plastic Optical Fiber white papers
- POFTO: Plastic Optical Fiber Trade Organization
- Home Networking using Ethernet over Plastic Optical Fiber
- Plastic Optical Fiber by videos and images
- Gigabit Transmission over Plastic Optical Fiber
- SELECTION OF PLASTICS FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS
- KDPOF: Gigabit Solution over POF
- PhD Thesis: Discrete Multitone Modulation for Gigabit over POF
- Gigabit POF Chipset