What Is a Plastic Optical Fiber?

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is made of highly transparent polymers such as polystyrene (PS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC) as the core material, and PMMA, fluoroplastic, etc. Optical fiber (optical fiber). Different materials have different light attenuation properties and temperature application ranges. Plastic optical fiber can not only be used in the last 100-1000 meters of the access network, but also can be used in various vehicles, aircrafts, and other means of transportation. It is an excellent short-distance data transmission medium.

Plastic optical fiber, Plastic Optical Fiber. As of 2014, communications

1.Attenuation

The attenuation of plastic optical fiber mainly depends on the material used

Plastic optical fibers are lightweight, flexible, and more resistant to damage (vibration and bending). Plastic optical fiber has excellent tensile strength, durability and small footprint. These advantages make plastic optical fiber particularly important for successful applications in automobiles. The interior of a typical luxury car consists of at least a few kilometers of copper wires and cables, which greatly increase weight and cost. This is true of planes, trains and all other means of transportation.

Due to the large diameter of plastic optical fibers and

From the domestic situation, plastic

After years of hard work, Chinese scientists have finally overcome

Research on plastic optical fibers began in the 1960s. Used by DuPont in 1968

At present, the applications of plastic optical fiber in China are: interior decoration, waterscape lighting, cave lighting, flammable and explosive occasions, and the use of sunlight. In addition, plastic optical fiber has also been widely used in industry, especially in the automotive industry, agriculture and national defense construction.

The reduction of network costs, the improvement of performance, the introduction of digital propagation technology, the reduction of electromagnetic interference, and the formulation and improvement of plastic optical fiber standards have made plastic optical fibers widely used in industrial, agricultural, and national defense construction, and promoted the plastic optical fiber industry. Become the mainstream industry of optical communications. At present, plastic optical fiber is mainly used in low-speed, short-distance communication transmission. Plastic optical fiber is widely used in the automobile manufacturing industry due to its large communication capacity, non-radiated electromagnetic noise, and light weight. BMW has used plastic optical fiber in its latest product for communications in automotive manufacturing systems.

In the industrial control bus system, through the converter, the plastic optical fiber can be connected with standard protocols such as RS232, RS422, 100 Mb / s Ethernet, and token network, so as to provide a stable and reliable communication route in the harsh industrial manufacturing environment. , High-speed transmission of industrial control signals and instructions, to avoid the danger of communication interruption due to interference using metal cable lines.

Through plastic optical fiber, we can realize the interconnection of smart appliances (home PC, HDTV, telephone, digital imaging equipment, air conditioners, refrigerators, audio systems, kitchen appliances, etc.), achieve home automation and remote control management, and improve the quality of life; With optical fiber, we can realize the networking of office equipment. For example, computer networking can realize parallel processing of computers. High-speed transmission of data between office equipment can greatly improve work efficiency and achieve remote office. When the data rate of the low-speed local area network is less than 100Mb / S, transmission in the range of 100m can be achieved with SI type plastic optical fiber; transmission in the range of 150Mb / s 50m can be achieved with a small numerical aperture POF. POF can be widely used in the manufacturing industry. Through the converter, the POF can be connected to standard protocol interfaces such as RS232, RS422, 100 Mb / S Ethernet, and token network, so as to provide stable and reliable communication lines in harsh working and manufacturing environments. It can transmit industrial control signals and instructions at high speed, avoiding the danger of communication interruption caused by electromagnetic interference due to the use of metal cable lines.

As an ideal transmission medium for short-distance communication networks, plastic optical fiber will also be widely used in future home intelligence and office automation. In the Internet service, plastic optical fiber is used to connect the vehicle communication network and the control system into a network due to its light weight and durability. Includes microcomputers, satellite navigation equipment, mobile phones, fax and other peripherals in the overall design of the vehicle. , Passengers can enjoy music, movies, video games, shopping on the seat through the plastic optical fiber network. When the transmission distance of plastic optical fiber does not exceed 100m, its transmission rate can reach 11Gb / s. Therefore, plastic optical fiber can be used to replace twisted pair and coaxial cables in short-distance transmission of the Internet, thereby ensuring large-capacity in the short-distance Internet Communication.

In the individual combat system, light-weight, flexible, and fast-connecting plastic optical fiber is used as a lightweight computer system worn by soldiers. Plastic optical fiber is also used in the control systems of high-tech smart weapons such as aircraft, warships, and missiles.

With the development of science and technology, the application fields of plastic optical fiber are getting wider and wider, and its market development will become wider and wider. Foreign countries have made great achievements in the application and development of plastic optical fibers, and continue to increase investment in new application research. Some manufacturers in South Korea, China, and Taiwan have begun to invest in research and production. Therefore, the industry should focus on plastic optical fibers Research and development are closely watched. ^[2]