Applications Of Plastic Optical Fiber To Local Area Networks

Recent improvements in plastic optical fiber properties and increasing availability of optical components designed for this fiber suggest that POF based local area network (LAN) systems may represent an increasing fraction of installed optical fiber systems. POF based systems can satisfy one of the major driving forces in the marketplace: low cost. The plastic fiber is lower in cost than competing silica based optical fiber and most coaxial or twisted pair media options. Optical interconnect components such as LEDs, detectors, and optical connectors can be similarly low in cost for POF based systems. Of course, POF retains the advantages of glass fiber cabling systems such as noise immunity, high bandwidth and ease of cabling.