Plastic optical fibers

Abstract

This paper deals with the analysis of the current POF market trends and its estimated growth in the vital sectors in the years to come. Plastic optical fibers have now come into the limelight since they have become an apparent middle ground between copper and glass optical fibers. The market area concerned is that where speed is at the high end of copper's capability and distances too low for fibre to be economic. This logically creates a market space at speeds of over 100 Mbit/s (the present top end for copper in data networking) and at distances of under a few hundred metres, above which GOF becomes more economic. With established POF products able to achieve 500 Mbit/s over 50 metres and new generation products promising 10Gbit/s over 100 metres (with only gradual tail off at greater distance), cheap terminal equipment and low cost installation, POF appears to be a natural choice to fill this void. Moreover, with its freedom from Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI), POF appears to be a suitable candidate to fill some of the market space that may otherwise be filled by copper where EMI is not a consideration. The inherent flexibility, low weight and ease of connection of POF add to its attraction. The following article reviews the history of POFs, the various types of POFs, it's applications which will make them the favorite over glass optical fibers and it's future prospects.