Short-reach optical links such as those used in data centers pre-dominantly employ VCSELs together with laser- optimized OM4 and OM3 multimode fiber (MMF), mainly due to their reliability, energy-efficiency and low end-to-end system cost. The IEEE 802.3bm specification for 100Gbps Ethernet utilizes four parallel MMFs each operating at a serial data rate of 25Gbps. Due to the rapidly increasing internet traffic, the IEEE P802.3bs Task Force is working towards a 400Gbps Ethernet standard requiring a commensurate increase in the number of parallel fibers deployed. Using 16 parallel lanes, while feasible, is not the most efficient use of cabling. One solution to the data rate - cable density problem is the use of shortwave wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) near 850nm. For example, employing four wavelengths separated by ~30nm (with an operational window of ~840-950nm) results in a four-fold increase in the per-fiber data rate. Furthermore, SWDM can be combined with the parallel solution to support 400Gbps with the same cable density as the current 100Gbps Ethernet solution using OM4 fiber. Conventional laser-optimized OM4 gives diminished performance at the longer wavelengths compared to 850nm. Shifting the OM4 optimization wavelength to longer wavelengths sacrifices the 850nm performance. In this paper, we present next-generation wideband multimode fibers (NG-WBMMF) that are optimized for SWDM operation using a novel design approach employing multiple dopants. We have fabricated and characterized a wideband MMF that is OM4 compliant over the 850-950nm wavelength window. BER measurements demonstrate that this next-generation WB MMF satisfies the pre-FEC requirement of 5 × 10-5 even after transmission over 300m.
VCSEL-multimode optical fiber based links is the most successful optical technology in Data Centers. Laser-optimized multimode optical fibers, OM3 and OM4, have been the primary choice of physical media for 10 G serial, 4 x 10 G parallel, 10 x 10 G parallel, and 4 x 25 G parallel optical solutions in IEEE 802.3 standards. As the transition of high-end servers from 10 Gb/s to 40 Gb/s is driving the aggregation of speeds to 40 Gb/s now, and to 100 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s in near future, industry experts are coming together in IEEE 802.3bs 400 Gb/s study group and preliminary discussion of Terabit transmission for datacom applications has also been commenced. To meet the requirement of speed, capacity, density, power consumption and cost for next generation datacom applications, optical fiber design concepts beyond the standard OM3 and OM4 MMFs have a revived research and developmental interest, for example, wide band multimode optical fiber using multiple dopants for coarse wavelength division multiplexing; multicore multimode optical fiber using plural multimode cores in a single fiber strand to improve spatial density; and perhaps 50 Gb/s per lane and few mode fiber in spatial division multiplexing for ultimate capacity increase in far future. This talk reviews the multitude of fiber optic media being developed in the industry to address the upcoming challenges of datacom growth. We conclude that multimode transmission using low cost VCSEL technology will continue to be a viable solution for datacom applications.
In this paper, we review special high bandwidth multimode fiber and their role in upgrade path of
optical interconnection to 40Gbps and 100Gbps in green data centers and high performance
computing.
In this paper, we describe the characteristics of advanced MMF, how it is specified, how it is manufactured, and update
its application in IEEE P802.3ba 40G/100G SR4/10 standards development.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake on December 26, 2006 in the Strait of Luzon resulted in the failure of several
submarine cable systems. Seven of the nine cables that pass through the strait were damaged, disrupting
communications to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore. This recent event highlighted the
dependence of international communications on submarine fiber optic transmission systems.
This paper will review the evolution of optical fiber transmission line technology that has been deployed in the
long haul undersea telecommunications network. It will start with a discussion of the chronological evolution
of the optical fiber transmission line architecture in section one, then give more detail regarding the
technology that is still being deployed today.
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