Developments in Plastic Optical Fiber Technology and its Future - Research Paper Example

Developments in Plastic Optical Fiber Technology and its Future Introduction Fiber is the technology of the future that offers some of the important advantages, for instance, higher data rate with less single distortion. The capacity of the fiber optics is increasing with the passage of time and lots of new enhancements have also made in this area. Plastic optical fiber (POF) has always been hiding in the background of fiber optics, however, they have been used for low speed and light short data connections. With the passage of time, it gained massive popularity among industries due to a greater interest given by research and development (R&D) sector. In fact, R&D has made possible for it to get higher performance to follow with its low cost and ease of installation (The FOA; Paschotta). This paper presents a detailed analysis of plastic optical fiber. This paper discusses the basic structure of plastic optical fiber, its working, its advantages and disadvantages. This paper also discusses the future prospects of this technology. Plastic Optical Fibers As shown in figure 1, plastic optical fiber is a huge central step-index fiber and its diameter is equal to 1 mm (millimeter). Hence, its huge size allows it to easily combine lots of light coming from various connectors and sources with less precision. In this scenario, the prices of standard connector are between 10% and 20% for glass fibers as well as closure is also as easy as cutting with a razor blade. In view of the fact that it is coated with the plastic so it makes it easy and rugged to install and connect deprived of fear of loss or damage (The FOA; Paschotta). Figure 1Structure of Plastic Optical Fiber, Image Source: http://www.thefoa.org/tech/pof.htm Figure 2core of Plastic Optical Fiber, Image Source: (Industrial Fiber Optics, 2014) However, one of the major drawbacks of this media is that its performance is much lower than glass fiber. Additionally, its bandwidth is limited as well as it has a connection, loss of approximately 0.15-0.2 dB per meter at 650 NM. On the other hand, it works fine when it is used for running short connection, for instance within a place for desktop connections up to 50 meters or inside of instruments. In this scenario, its most excellent usage is seen in the automobile industry in which it has expanded a position with the innovative Flexray and MOST networks (The FOA; Paschotta). Its proven effectiveness for small distance connections make it an excellent choice for desktop LAN connections. For such connections, it can be installed in a few minutes with negligible training and tools. In future, it can be expected that its bandwidth will exceed to a considerable level. However, it’s cost is reasonable as compared to copper. In fact, standards groups are currently looking at various choices for plastic fiber optics. It is believed that POF can be the following practical desktop connection (The FOA, 2008). Normally, the transmission is carried through fiber optic systems in the digital format. In other words, this transmission is sent and received in the shape of pulses. In this scenario, during its transmission a pulse through the fiber, undergoes a time-based spread called dispersion or temporal dispersion. Additionally, this dispersion can have serious impact on analogue communications, for the reason that it creates a misrepresentation in the waveform of the signal. Hence, in any transmission connection that is based an optical fiber there is a dispersion the parameter that measures the extreme bandwidth that an optical fiber can transmit (Zubia and Arrue). Types of Optical Fiber Normally, plastic optical fibers are made of material known as PMMA (Polymethyl methacrylate). Additionally, there are many other types of optical fiber and their specific features and properties are applied in different fields. Given below are some of the well-known types of optical fibers which are widely used in different area (Industrial Fiber Optics; Paschotta): Quartz Optical Fiber This type of optical fiber is appropriate for carrying long-distance transmissions. This type is further divided into two types. The first type is known as single mode fiber that is commonly used for communications. And second type is known as multi-mode fiber that is widely used for office networks. Glass optical fiber Its type multi-component glass optical fiber is extensively employed together with plastic optical fiber for lighting. Plastic optical fiber It is the most commonly used optical fiber that is used for short-distance for motor vehicles and electronic appliances. Polymer-clad fiber This fiber comes with a quartz core and plastic cladding. Types of Plastic Optical fiber Up till now, new developments and advancements are taking place in the field of plastic optical fiber and new types of plastic optical fibers are being introduced such fluorinated and polycarbonate. In this scenario, polycarbonates and polystyrene are widely utilized for low-priced fiber-optic mass applications. In a typical scenario, a plastic optical fiber can contain a PMMA center enclosed by a fluorinated cladding, with a lesser refractive index. On the other hand, the center may be fixed with some index-raising agent. However, in order to attain high data rates, definite perfluorinated polymers like that poly (perfluoro-butenylvinyl ether) are used, for the reason that they can be processed at longer wavelengths and show much lower transmission losses, where receivers and transmitters as produced for glass fibers can be utilized. In addition, photonic crystal fiber is a comparatively novel and not yet commonly used development with plastic materials (Industrial Fiber Optics; Paschotta). Comparison with Glass Fibers In their article, (Paschotta, 2014) gives a good comparison of plastic optical fibers with glass fibers. According to the author, POF greatly differs from glass fibers in many ways: Normally, the loss of various plastic optical fibers is smallest at observable wavelengths, or in case of perfluorinated polymers it can be near infrared (less than 1.3 millimeter). On the other hand, the loss of silica fibers minimum at greater than 1.5 μm, as well as various other glasses even at much higher wavelengths. It is an admitted fact that the data transmission with plastic optical fiber is limited to a smaller area as compared to glass fibers. For instance, with a normal plastic optical fiber there are higher transmission losses i.e. 50 or even 100 dB/km, on the other hand the transmission loss with silica fibers is well below 1 dB/km (in the case of single-mode fibers) or up to a few dB/m (in case of multimode fibers). Plastic optical fibers are believed to be very useful in case when light-emitting diodes are to be used as data transmitters for the reason that plastic optical fibers are normally multimode fibers with a high numerical aperture (e.g. 0.4), and a huge center (as discussed above, it has a diameter of the order of 1 mm), hence it provides support for a wide variety of guided modes. On the other hand, in case of glass fibers, intermodal distribution can be reduced by making use of graded-index profile designs. However, it is clear that plastic optical fiber does not seem appropriate for single-mode guidance. Plastic optical fibers are computationally more flexible and strong. It is an admitted fact that their multimode guidance with high NA and a huge center significantly reduces the forbearances for connectors, in order that simple plastic components can be used and there is no need for additional or sophisticated training. Because of these causes, as well as not inexpensive ingredients, plastic optical fibers make allowance for considerable cost savings in numerous applications. Mechanically well protected glass fiber cables are much thicker and less lightweight than POF cables. At the present, the use of plastic optical fibers is increasing at a rapid pace and its applications can be seen in a variety of areas for instance home networks, aircraft industry and the automotive. In addition, illumination is another significant application domain, which is gaining considerable benefits from the quick development of light-emitting diodes (Paschotta). Advantages of POF Plastic optical fibers are believed to be tremendously rugged dependable, due to these characteristics they are being adopted in a variety of fields such as in the residential, industrial and commercial networking market. Plastic optical fibers are also preferably appropriate for offering high-bandwidth developing solutions for instance IPTV as well as additional triple play services. As compared to traditional wiring such as Cat5 and Cat6 POF provides a number of advantages when these deployed for residential, and industrial and commercial networking (EB Blog): Quick, Easy and Inexpensive Installations As discussed above, the most important advantage of POF is that it can be used and installed a home builder, by making use of very basic tools and with little training. In view of the fact that plastic optical fiber presents easy to build a connection hence it makes installations easy, simple, rapid and far more straight-forward than various other networking technologies. In addition, POF will decrease the price of truck rolls for broadband service providers for the reason that it is so fast, economical and easy to install. High Bandwidth It is expected that in the future POF will be able to offer a data rate of 1Gbps while maintaining the maximum quality of service to every office and home user. However, it presently offers data rates of equal to 100 Mbps. However, its current data rate makes it the most useful choice for 100 Mbps optical fast Ethernet networks in residential, industrial and commercial environments. Rugged and Strong Plastic optical fiber can be an excellent choice for the deployment in construction because it is a very durable and rugged technology that can be moved and turned deprived of any loss of bandwidth, loss of service, or damage to the cabling. Protection against Electrical Noise It is believed that POF is absolutely protected against electrical noise for the reason that it sends and receives data optically. In other words, plastic optical fibers can be installed even alongside electrical wiring. In this scenario, it is believed to be the most important advantage of POF especially in case of bandwidth-intensive applications, for instance multimedia data transmission, in order that the signal transmitted via plastic optical fiber will not damage or be destructively affected by outside noise. Simple Design Plastic optical fibers are believed to be an excellent choice for home/office designers and architects, for the reason that one POF cable capable of satisfying a wide variety of network media needs and varying requirements. At the present, plastic optical fiber cables are being used for point-to-point connections and up to 100 meters for 100 Mbps with more powerful POF cables with 0.3NA and up to 75 meters for 100 Mbps with 0.5NA cables. However, if someone wants to expand their network, they can use a repeater. Extensively Used Plastic optical fiber is not a new technology, it is already being used for a long time and is a proven technology in numerous industries as well as is already extensively utilized in the automotive industry. In fact, up till now this technology has been used in more than 20 million cars to carry high speed in-car infotainment. Affordable Plastic optical fibers are a cost effective solution for home and office users. In fact, devices and equipment such as EoPOF devices, plastic optical fiber cabling, fiber optic transceivers, connectors are perfect for builders and for broadband service providers who find it difficult to install innovative industrial and commercial and residential networking products under budget limitation (EB Blog). Disadvantages of POF Some of the disadvantages of Plastic optical fibers are outlined below (Polishuk; Paschotta): These cables are useful for only small distance communication because they can cause significant data loss when they are used for distant communication. There are only a small number of providers that provide these technologies. Up till now there are no standards developed or inappropriate standards for this technology. As this technology is not very popular as compared to other media, so the majority of people are not aware how to design and install networks with POFs Inadequate or limited manufacturing, which does not allow the customers to realize the complete usefulness of POFs. High temperature fibers (approximately 125°C) Applications of POFs As compared to glass optical fibers the plastic optical fibers are not limited to the telecommunication sector. In fact, they are being used in a number of sectors. At the present, automobile companies making excellent uses of this technology. It is an admitted fact that the automobile companies always search for the technologies that can help them make their product a huge success and POF is believed to be that killer technology for automobile industry which has offered many benefits for the automobile industry. Another most important usage of POF is in the field of computing for the reason that the majority of IT firms develop applications to be installed on large data centers, servers, supercomputers, and they need to be connected with each other in order to transfer data. In addition, these networks are established for a limited area and such communication is supported through plastic optical fiber. Optical fiber is also invulnerable to the electromagnetic intrusion that creates threats for copper wire. Optical fiber cable also provides astonishing bandwidth. It is not merely very fast as well as can transmit a huge number of messages at the same time, and also fiber-optic cable is a very safe communication medium. Optical fiber communications are rapidly becoming the best option for television transmission, telecommunication systems, and data networks. Fiber optic cables offer many benefits as compared to traditional ways of information technology, for instance copper or coaxial cables (Polishuk). Future Prospects Without a doubt, POF is believed to be an innovative technology and sometimes it is being acknowledged as a disruptive technology. Normally, disruptive technologies are considerably cost effective and these technologies can be further developed by the established companies, however for the companies it is hard to decide that whether their effort will be worth the essential resources or how to promote the product. In the future, it is expected that there will be more developments in this area. A large number of researches and experiments are being performed to see the usefulness of plastic optical fibers in different areas and new types are emerging (Polishuk). Conclusion This paper has discussed various aspects associated with plastic optical fiber. This paper started with a brief introduction of POF and then it provided a detailed description of the working of this technology. The speed of laser light is much higher as compared to electrical signals; fiber-optic cable can without problems transmit data at the rate of more than a billion bits per second. With the passage of time, there are enhancements in transmission media and hardware, therefore, fiber-optic cable transmission speeds have considerably enhanced and at this moment approach 100 Gbps. This paper has provided a detailed comparison of this technology with other technologies. The applications of POF are increasing with the passage of time. In fact, it is already being heavily used in automobile industry. And other industries are also looking for the ways to make effective use of this technology. It is expected that in the future the applications of this technology will further increase in other areas of life. Works Cited EB Blog. POF Characteristics and Applications. 2014. https://sites.google.com/a/electronicbricks.it/electronicbricks/technolgies-and-competitive-advantages/competitive-advantages-of-pof. 20 February 2014. . EB Blog contains a wide variety of articles written on laser technologies, especially it provides useful information on plastic optical fibers. This article provides interesting concepts related to plastic optical fiber. This article was used along with other sources to discuss some of the basic aspects of plastic optical fibers. Industrial Fiber Optics. Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) Basics. 2014. 13 October 2014. . This web site provides some of the basic concepts associated with plastic optical fiber. This is a complete web site that contains data and information regarding some of the latest technologies in the field of optical fibers. This web site was used to take an insight of some of the basics of the plastic optical fibers. Paschotta, Rudiger. "Optical Fiber Technology: Physical Principles and Applications of Different Types of Optical Fibers." Optik & Photonik (2008): 52-55. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/opph.201190194/pdf. . This is very popular journal article written by Rudiger Paschotta, which provides a detailed overview of optical fiber technology. This paper is written by Rudiger Paschotta, who is a well-known scientist in this area. In this article he has explained several important concepts. This paper discusses the basic principles and various applications of optical fiber technology. Polishuk, Paul. "Plastic Optical Fibers Branch Out." 2006. http://www.pofto.com/downloads/ieee/pof.branches.v6.pdf. This report is written by Paul Polishuk, who is a well-known expert from the optical fiber industry. This is a complete guide that contains almost every aspect of plastic optical fiber. This report provides a detailed overview of plastic optical fiber, its types and applications. This report also discusses the future prospects of plastic optical fiber. The FOA. The Fiber Optic Association - Tech Topics. 2008. 12 October 2014. . As its name indicates, this web site is specifically designed and maintained to provide information on fober optics. This web site contains important articles related to fiber optics. This web site also presents an overview of the latest developments going on in this area. Zubia, Joseba and Jon Arrue. "Plastic Optical Fibers: An Introduction to Their Technological Processes and Applications." Optical Fiber Technology 7 (2001): 101-140. This is a journal article that was published in optical fiber technology journal. I used this article to take an insight of some of the basics of plastic optical fibers because this articles provides a detailed overview of almost all the major aspects associated with plastic optical fibers. Read More