Gigabits in the home with plugless plastic optical fiber (POF) interconnects

Abstract

We have developed plugless optical transceivers for low cost optical networking with plastic optical fiber (POF). The transmission speed is 125 Mb/s for Ethernet applications and 1.25 Gb/s for Gigabit Ethernet and other high speed applications. The high speed modules for Gigabit transmission are based on a red VCSEL light source for the transmitter that matches the optical attenuation minimum of the plastic fiber media. The devices have demonstrated excellent reliability with more than 850,000 hours of mean-time-to-failure operating life time at elevated temperatures of 40degC. Automotive qualified, rugged resonant cavity LEDs (RCLEDs) are used for the lower speed modules. The plugless transceiver design enables the direct optical connection between the active components and standard POF without the need for special termination of the fiber. Only a simple cutting action is required. This enables low cost field installations.