Plastic optical fiber (POF) (or
fibre) is an
optical fiberAn optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers...
which is made out of
plasticPlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products...
. Traditionally PMMA (acrylic) is the core material, and fluorinated polymers are the
claddingCladding is the covering of one material with another. It has different meanings depending on the context.-Metal:In metallurgy, cladding is the bonding together of dissimilar metals. It is distinct from welding or gluing as a method to fasten the metals together...
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.
Plastic optical fiber (POF) (or
fibre) is an
optical fiberAn optical fiber is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers...
which is made out of
plasticPlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products...
. Traditionally PMMA (acrylic) is the core material, and fluorinated polymers are the
claddingCladding is the covering of one material with another. It has different meanings depending on the context.-Metal:In metallurgy, cladding is the bonding together of dissimilar metals. It is distinct from welding or gluing as a method to fasten the metals together...
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. 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 (
PROFIBUSPROFIBUS is a standard for field bus communication in automation technology and was first promoted by BMBF...
,
PROFINETPROFINET 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 (
MOSTMedia Oriented Systems Transport is a vehicle bus standard, intended for interconnecting multimedia components in automobiles and other vehicles...
). The perfluorinated polymer fibers are commonly used for much higher-speed applications such as data center wiring and building
LANA local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...
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/.
For
telecommunicationTelecommunication is transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags or heliograph. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone,...
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 lower than 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 in short:
- PMMA & Polystyrene
Polystyrene , sometimes abbreviated PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially 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 silicone
Silicones are largely inert, man-made compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant, nonstick, and rubber-like, they are commonly used in cookware, medical applications, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, insulation, and breast implants.Silicones are polymers that include...
resin (refractive index ~1.46).
- High refractive index
The refractive index of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light is reduced inside the medium. For example, typical soda-lime glass has a refractive index close to 1.5, which means that in glass, light travels at 1 / 1.5 = 2/3 the speed of light in a vacuum...
difference is maintained between core and cladding.
- POF have high numerical aperture
In 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...
.
- 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: 978-3-540-76628-5
External links