Could plastic optical fibre for Ethernet make it big
It is used by the auto industry as the networking medium within the vehicles themselves. Cars and car makers are a tough environment. If it is good enough for them,why does it not find a more ready acceptance in other challenging places? Plastic Optical Fibre, or POF as it is commonly referred to, has emerged as a low cost alternative to traditional copper cabling. The economists predict a market value of $1bn/year+ by the end of 2008. It cannot be ignored and the technical building blocks are all in place to make it happen says Mike Jones
POF offers many benefits to the user. It is lightweight, robust, cheap and easy to install. A simple sharp blade can be used to cut the fibre without need for polishing or expensive termination equipment afterwards. The use of red LED 650nm light makes it completely safe. This safety feature brings additional benefits to the installer, as red light can be easily seen by the human eye to diagnose if the link is good. Traditional glass fibre 850nm laser solutions are neither visible to the naked eye nor classified as ‘eye safe’.
Perhaps though one of the biggest advantages in today’s complex and congested world of networking is the fact that being fibre it is totally immune to electro-magnetic noise and, just as important, itself emits no radiation. Just think of all the wireless networks that are present today in the home, office or factory. This is extremely important for real time streaming of factory machine control data where such noise can affect the quality of service. Installation is simplified further as existing mains cable ducting can be used to route the fibre without any impact from noise interference or safety issues.
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