23 May 2011

Georgia Tech uses VI’s 850nm VCSEL for record 25Gb/s POF link

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, USA have demonstrated a plastic optical fiber (POF) data link using an ultra-high-speed 850nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) from VI Systems GmbH of Berlin, Germany for error-free data transmission over a distance of 100m of 80µm-diameter core POF at a record speed of 25Gb/s. The coupling tolerances to reach error-free transmission (defined as a bit-error ratio <10–12) were as high as ~35µm. Plastic optical fibers are more typically used at lower data rates from 50MB/s to 1Gb/s in automotive and home network applications and with light wavelengths near 650nm.

VI Systems is a fabless spin-off of the Technical University of Berlin and the A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St Petersburg, Russia that provides laser and photo-detector chips and modules (optical engines and optoelectronic components for communication, industrial, and consumer applications). The firm hails Georgia Tech's achievement as another key milestone proving the applicability of advanced VCSELs for low-cost high-speed optical data transmission over 100m distances.

Optical data transmission of up to 40Gb/s has been realized using high-speed photodetectors and transimpendance amplifiers (TIAs) from VI Systems. The V40-850C chip is available in a 250µm x 250µm single die size or as a 1x4-channel or 1x12-channel chip array. The target applications are proprietary optical links and active optical cables (AOCs) at 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s, Fibre Channel at 14Gb/s and 28Gb/s, and Infiniband FDR (14Gb/s) and EDR (26Gb/s) applications. Product samples are available.

VI Systems will present an update on its VCSEL and photodetector technology at the Fibre Channel Industry Association meeting in Coeur d'Alene, ID, USA (8–12 June).

Tags: VI Systems 850nm VCSEL POF link

Visit: www.v-i-systems.com

Visit: www.gatech.edu