Advances in Optical

Fiber Technology:
Laser-Optimized Multimode

Bob Kostash, P. Eng., RCDD

Sales Director
SYSTIMAX Solutions
 Topics For Discussion
Fiber Types
Laser Technologies
Differential Mode Delay
Cable, Link, and Testing Standards
Application Standards
Cost Analysis
Connector choice

and Only one (1) shameless plug for my employer!

What Makes the Most $ense?
Multiple Wavelength Transmission
CWDM, DWDM
Future of Single Wavelength Transmission
The Variety of Multimode
Fiber Types
OM1 200 MHz.km
OM2 500 MHz.km
OM3 1500 MHz.km (OFL)
OM3 2000 MHz.km (Laser)
Cost & Bandwidth
The trade offs and comparisons
Light Source
LED Vs Laser
Transmission Wavelength
850nm Vs 1300nm
Impact of Laser Technology
VSCEL, DFB, EML, DM-DFB, DM-FP

Multimode Vs Singlemode
Connector choice
Supportable Distances variation by data-rate LC, SC, ST, MT-RJ

Supportable Distances variation by fiber type

 Fiber Manufacture
Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD)
Starts with a pure silica tube
Gases flow inside rotating tube on a lathe
Moving torch creates soot particles
Multiple passes vitrify gases

Soot Deposition

Chemical Vapor

Moving Torch

Jim Hulsey
Drawing Tower
Preform is tested and moved to drawing
tower
Preform
Fiber is drawn to 125 microns
Then coated to 250 microns
Furnace
Optical, geometrical and mechanical tests
are then performed
125 um Fiber
Laser
Micrometer

Coating

250 um
Coated Fiber

UV Curing

Laser
Micrometer

Jim Hulsey
Some Fiber Basics
Step-index Multimode fiber:
In multimode fiber many modes of
light can travel along the fiber
In singlemode, only one mode is
considered to travel along the fiber
Different modes take different Graded-index Multimode fiber:
optical paths, hence within one
pulse there is the possibility for
modes to arrive at slightly different
arrival times
This is Modal Dispersion and can Singlemode fiber :
result in the broadening and overlap
of adjacent signals
This limits the bandwidth of an
optical fiber Modal Dispersion
It is minimized by the design of the
Refractive Index Profile of the fiber
e.g. Graded Index

Input Signal Output Signal

Jim Hulsey
 All fibers are NOT the same
Fiber Geometry and coating
cladding
Refractive Index Profile core
(RIP) are key to the
performance and
bandwidth of the different 125 micron
Cladding
fiber types

Core
Diameter

Multimode Multimode Singlemode

62.5 micron 50 micron 8.3 micron
Laser Technologies
Conventional Laser Technology New Laser Technology

Beam

Substrate

Beam Substrate

Edge Emitting Lasers : Fabry-Perot (FP) Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting

and Decision Feedback (DFB) Lasers Lasers : VCSEL -
Emits light parallel to the surface of Emits light perpendicular to the
substrate substrate

Jim Hulsey
VCSEL
Advantages of VCSEL over Edge Emitting Lasers
Lower cost
Lower power consumption
Higher reliability
Smaller size
Easier manufacturing and packaging
Simpler drive circuitry

Jim Hulsey
Laser Launch vs LED
Laser Launch LED Launch
Center Modes Middle Modes All Modes

Outer Modes
LED fills entire core
other combinations and
Overfilled Launch (OFL)
offsets

Lasers fill only a subset of modes

Each laser has a unique output profile

Jim Hulsey
Lasers replacing LEDs
850 nm LED: Uniform power distribution vs radius, fills all modes

Encircled flux 3D Power intensity map Power intensity vs radius

10 Gb/s 850 nm Laser: Power sharply changes with radius, fills small subset of modes
 Lasers Reveal DMD Problems
LED
All
Modes
DMD only slightly degrades system performance
Power in high DMD modes relatively low, causes secondary
pulse very low amplitude, overall pulse detectable as one

Laser

DMD causes bit errors

Power concentrated in 2 modes w/ high delay, causes split pulse
Reliable 1 to 10G Support
Bits merge, causing bit errors & system failure

10GVCSEL
10G VCSEL Detector
850nm
850nm

Conventional Fiber - 50 or 62.5 micron

Actual Photos
@ 300 Meters

Received pulses are distinct and detectable

10GVCSEL
10G VCSEL Detector
850nm
850nm

Laser-Optimized Fiber
Fiber Comparisons

Jim Hulsey
 Differential Mode Delay
DMD Scan Example
High DMD
Cladding Speed
Cladding
Detector

Core Core

SM fiber
Core

Sample MM fiber Sample MM fiber

End View DMD = Difference in delay
Side View
time between the latest and
earliest arriving pulses

Full characterization of the fiber core

Best prediction of effective laser bandwidth
Standards Status
Fiber Specifications:
- EIA/TIA 492AAAC approved
March 2002 includes fiber
requirements for DMD and
2000 MHz.km bandwidth
- IEC 60793-2-10 draft
includes A1a.2 fiber
specification based on
492AAAC

Jim Hulsey
Standards Status
Cabling Standards:
- TIA 568B.3-A-1 approved March 2002 includes cable and cord
requirements using 492AAAC fiber
- ISO/IEC 11801 2nd edition FDIS includes OM3 fiber type with
2000 MHz.km bandwidth

Test Methods:
- TIA FOTP 220 defines DMD test, FOTP 203 defines encircled
flux test for 10 Gb/s lasers specified in IEEE 802.3ae
- IEC 60793-1-49 will mirror FOTP 220 and FOTP 203

Jim Hulsey
 ISO/IEC 11801 2nd Edition
Multimode Fiber, September 2001 Update
Minimum Modal Bandwidth
MHz.km

Optical Core Overfilled launch Effective laser launch

fiber type Diameter bandwidth bandwidth
um MHz.km MHz.km
850 nm 1300 nm 850 nm
OM1 50 or 62.5 200 500 Not specified
OM2 50 or 62.5 500 500 Not specified
OM3
OM3 50
50 1500
1500 500
500 2000
2000
NOTE: Effective laser launch bandwidth is assured using differential mode delay (DMD) as
specified in the draft document IEC-60793-1-49.
NOTE2: Laser bandwidth at 1300nm is not currently specified by applications

DMD is the only test method for laser bandwidth

Jim Hulsey
 Application/LAN Standards
Supporting OM3 Fiber Cabling
Backward compatible with legacy 850 and 1300 nm applications
IEEE 802.3ae 10GbE using 850 nm serial transmission
10GBASE-SR: Serial LAN PMD
10GBASE-SW: Serial WAN PMD (STM-64/OC-192c)
INCITS (International Committee for Information Technology
Standards): 10G Fiber Channel (10 GFC) application using 850 nm
serial transmission
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF): 10G application (VSR-4) using
850 nm serial transmission

Jim Hulsey
 IEEE 802.3ae: 10GbE Options

OM1 OM2 OM3 SM Estimated PMD

nm
62.5 um 50 um 50 um Cost Comparison

Serial
850 10GBASE-SR 28/35 m 69/86 m 300 m NA 1x
10GBASE-SW

CWDM
1310
10GBASE-LX4
300 m 300 m 300 m 10 km 34x

Serial
1310 10GBASE-LR NA NA NA 10 km 1.5 2 x
10GBASE-LW

Serial
1550 10GBASE-ER NA NA NA 40 km 46x
10GBASE-EW

R = 64B/66B encoding
W = 64B/66B encoding plus Sonet frame
X = 8B/10B encoding

Jim Hulsey
 10 Gigabit Ethernet Options
for Multimode Fiber
10 Gb/s on Conventional MMF 10G on Laser Optimized MMF

4 x 2.5 Gb/s @ 1310 nm 1 x 10 Gb/s @ 850 nm

e .3 a e
2 .3 a 8 0 2
8 0 4 EE - S R
EE -L X IE A S E
IE S E B
BA 10G
10G

Requires complex WWDM transceiver Allows for simple serial transceiver

8 x 1310 nm lasers , 8 x detectors, 2
x combiners, 2 x splitters, 2 x mode
conditioning patch cords per link
High part count
Complex packaging
2 x 850 nm laser, 2 x detector
Low cost transceiver materials
Lower packaging cost

Jim Hulsey
10 Gb/s is REAL!!!!
Electronics are on the market
Nortel, Cisco, Avaya, Foundry, Enterasys,
others, offer LAN and/or WAN options

10 Gbps transceiver vendors

Agilent, Agere, Cielo, Molex, Blaze, IBM, Intel,
Picolight, Optillion, Infineon and others

10 Gbps connectivity solutions

SYSTIMAX, Corning, OFS, and many others

Jim Hulsey
New LOMMFs for Extended Distance
ISO/IEC Multimode Fiber Performance by Types

Optical Core Overfilled launch Effective laser Attenuation

fiber type Diameter bandwidth launch dB/km
m MHz-km bandwidth
MHz-km
850 nm 1300 nm 850 nm 850 nm 1300 nm
OM1 50 or 62.5 200 500 Not specified 3.5 1.5
OM2 50 or 62.5 500 500 Not specified 3.5 1.5
OM3 50 1500 500 2000 3.5 1.5
OM3 4700
50 3500 500 3.0 1.0
550 meters no DMD hole

Variation of OM3 fiber capable of supporting

10Gbps 850 nm optical Ethernet for up to 550
meter distances is now on the market

Jim Hulsey
Laser-Optimized Fiber: 10Gbps
Support to 550 meters
LONGEST distances
550 meters for 10Gbps, 1100 meters for 1Gbps
Support for 10Gbps Fiber Channel
HIGHEST bandwidth
4700/500 MHz.km (Laser) & 3500/500
MHz.km (OFL)
LOWEST attenuation
3.0/1.0 dB/km
 DMD - Launch Correspondence
10G launches at least 86% of power within 19 m radius
Tight inner DMD mask matches region carrying bulk of power
Looser DMD allowed in center and at edge
23
Core
18
Bulk
of
Power
5
Radius 4.5
(m) 0
-5

19

-18

-23
DMD
 DMD - Launch Correspondence
New OM3 550 m fiber specs expand range of tight inner masks
Tight control for 30% of power allowed inside 4.5 m radius
Higher reliability & future proofing for concentrated launches
23
Core
18

Up to 30%
5
Radius 4.5
(m) 0
-5

19

-18

-23
DMD
Shameless Plug Alert

Here it comes..

Jim Hulsey
 Differential Mode Delay
DMD Scan Example
High DMD
Cladding Speed
Cladding
Detector

Core Core

SM fiber
Core

Sample MM fiber Sample MM fiber

End View DMD = Difference in delay
Side View
time between the latest and
earliest arriving pulses

Full characterization of the fiber core

Best prediction of effective laser bandwidth
DMD Test Benches are NOT all equal
Standards allow latitude in implementation

1. SYSTIMAX uses 1 m
1. Superior spatial resolution 1. Standard allows radial
increment up to 2 m
2. SYSTIMAX uses ultra-fast (5 ps)
pulse widths 2. Speed of laser
1. Superior temporal resolution unspecified in standard
2. Others use lasers 20 times
slower! 3. Test length unspecified
3. SYSTIMAX tests system-level in standard
lengths (300 500 m)
1. Relates directly to system
performance
2. Others test long-lengths (4,400
m or longer)
1. Averaging DMD over long lengths can
hide problems at system lengths
 10 Gb/s Support Comparison

OM3+ 550

OM3 300

OM3 - 150

82 OM3 50 m LO
OM2 50 m
32 OM1 62.5 m

Distance (Meters)
OM3 550 OUTPERFORMS Generic 50 m by 571%!!
OM3 550 OUTPERFORMS LOMMF/OM3 STD. by 83%!!
 1 Gb/s Support Comparison

OM3 + 1100

OM3 1000

OM3 - 800

550 OM3 50 m LO
OM2 50 m
275 OM1 62.5 m

Distance (Meters)
OM3 550 OUTPERFORMS Generic 50 m by 100%!!
OM3 550 OUTPERFORMS 62.5 m multimode by 300%!!
 LOMMF Applications Support
Applications OM3 550 m OM3 50 micron 62.5 micron
Supported LOMMF LOMMF 500/500MHz.km 200/500MHz.km

10GBASE-S 850nm 550 m 300 m 82 m 32 m

10GBASE-LX4 1310nm 300 m 300 m 300 m* 300 m*
1000BASE-SX 850nm 1100 m 1000 m 550 m 275 m
1000BASE-LX 1310nm 550 m 550 m 550 m* 550 m*
100BASE-SX 850nm 300 m 300 m 300 m 300 m
100BASE-FX 1310nm 2000 m 2000 m 2000 m 2000 m
10G Fiber Channel 850nm 535 m 300 m 82 m 32 m
1G Fiber Channel 850nm 1000 m 900 m 500 m 300 m

* Requires mode conditioning patch cords ($$$)

Jim Hulsey
OM3/LOMMF
Lowest electronics cost for 10G
Best
850 nm VCSEL transceivers (one 10G
channel) at lower relative cost to other options
Choice
based on less stringent requirements for
alignment over OM3 fiber
1300 nm singlemode transceivers (one 10G 50%
channel) are very expensive due to very tight Premium
alignment requirements
CWDM (four channels at 2.5G over multimode)
is even more expensive due to the the high 100%
part counts and packaging complexity Premium
 Cost Comparison of Fiber Solutions
12-Fiber Plenum Cable Typical End-User Project Price
Initial Upgrade to
Cabling Options 1G Electronics 10G Electronics
Type Range Avg Length Transceiver Cord Transceiver Cord

Singlemode 0 - 300 m 150 m 1G-LX SM 10G-LX4 -

62.5 OM1 MM 0 - 275 m 150 m 1G-SX 62.5 MM 10G-LX4 MC-PC

OM3 - 150 0 - 300 m 150 m 1G-SX LOMMF 10G-LX4 -

OM3 - 300 0 - 300 m 150 m 1G-SX LOMMF 10G-SR -

OM3 - 550 0 - 550 m 275 m 1G-SX LOMMF 10G-SR -

Cost Legend
VERY LOW LOW MEDIUM HIGH

Customer Value Choices

Fiber Transceiver Pricing & Forecast
$3,000

$2,000
2004
1G-LX $746.25
1G-SX $375.00
$1,000
Prem/ckt $742.50

$0
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
10G-LX4 $3,000 $2,400 $1,943 $1,588 $1,308 $1,085 $905 $758 $637 $537 $453
10G-SR $2,250 $1,688 $1,288 $1,000 $788 $630 $509 $416 $342 $284 $237

Prem/ckt $1,500 $1,425 $1,309 $1,176 $1,041 $911 $792 $685 $589 $506 $433

2004 prices are 75% of Cisco List Price for Nov/Dec 2003 delivery
Chip cost portion declining at 35%/yr while optics declining at 15%/yr
Chip/optics portions estimated to account for 25%/75% of LX4 cost
Chip/optics portions estimated to account for 50%/50% of SR cost
ROI Analysis: SM vs OM1 Comparison
Transceiver savings (none)
plus MC-PC savings Rate of Return
# active Initial 1G premium upon upgrading to 10G on Initial Premium
circuits Cabling Cord Transc Total 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
1 -$211 $7 $743 $538 $288 $288 $288 $288 $288 -27% -15% -10% -8% -6%
2 -$211 $14 $1,485 $1,288 $575 $575 $575 $575 $575 -33% -18% -13% -10% -8%
3 -$211 $21 $2,228 $2,037 $863 $863 $863 $863 $863 -35% -19% -13% -10% -8%
4 -$211 $28 $2,970 $2,787 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 -36% -20% -14% -10% -8%
5 -$211 $35 $3,713 $3,536 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 -36% -20% -14% -11% -9%
6 -$211 $42 $4,455 $4,286 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 -37% -20% -14% -11% -9%

0%

-10%

-20%

-30% 6 circuits
5 circuits
4 circuits
-40% 3 circuits
2 circuits
1 circuit
-50%
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Initial solution premium is never recovered.

OM1 is a better choice for short distances.
ROI Analysis: OM3-150 vs OM1 Comparison
Transceiver savings (none)
plus MC-PC savings Rate of Return
# active Initial 1G premium upon upgrading to 10G on Initial Premium
circuits Cabling Cord Transc Total 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
1 $59 $4 $0 $63 $288 $288 $288 $288 $288 113% 46% 29% 21% 16%
2 $59 $7 $0 $67 $575 $575 $575 $575 $575 193% 71% 43% 31% 24%
3 $59 $11 $0 $71 $863 $863 $863 $863 $863 249% 87% 52% 37% 28%
4 $59 $15 $0 $74 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 $1,150 293% 98% 58% 41% 31%
5 $59 $19 $0 $78 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 $1,438 329% 107% 62% 44% 34%
6 $59 $22 $0 $82 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 $1,725 359% 114% 66% 46% 36%

100%
6 circuits
5 circuits
80%
4 circuits
3 circuits
60% 2 circuits
1 circuit
40%

20%

0%
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Initial solution premium is easily justified.

OM3 - 150 is a better choice for short distances
ROI Analysis: OM3-300 vs OM3-150 Comparison
Transceiver savings
(10G-LX4 vs 10G-SR) Rate of Return
# active Initial 1G premium upon upgrading to 10G on Initial Premium
circuits Cabling Cord Transc Total 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
1 $367 $0 $0 $367 $1,309 $1,041 $792 $589 $433 89% 30% 14% 6% 2%
2 $367 $0 $0 $367 $2,618 $2,081 $1,584 $1,178 $866 167% 54% 28% 16% 9%
3 $367 $0 $0 $367 $3,926 $3,122 $2,376 $1,768 $1,299 227% 71% 37% 22% 13%
4 $367 $0 $0 $367 $5,235 $4,163 $3,168 $2,357 $1,731 278% 84% 43% 26% 17%
5 $367 $0 $0 $367 $6,544 $5,203 $3,960 $2,946 $2,164 322% 94% 49% 30% 19%
6 $367 $0 $0 $367 $7,853 $6,244 $4,752 $3,535 $2,597 363% 103% 53% 33% 22%

100%
6 circuits
5 circuits
80%
4 circuits
3 circuits
60%
2 circuits
1 circuit
40%

20%

0%
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

Additional initial solution premium is also easily justified.

OM3-300m is an even better choice for 0-300m distances
ROI Analysis: OM3-550 vs SM Comparison
Transceiver savings
(10G-LX4 vs 10G-SR) Rate of Return
# active Initial 1G premium upon upgrading to 10G on Initial Premium
circuits Cabling Cord Transc Total 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
1 $2,599 -$3 -$743 $1,853 $1,309 $1,041 $792 $589 $433 -16% -13% -13% -13% -14%
2 $2,599 -$7 -$1,485 $1,107 $2,618 $2,081 $1,584 $1,178 $866 54% 17% 6% 1% -2%
3 $2,599 -$10 -$2,228 $361 $3,926 $3,122 $2,376 $1,768 $1,299 230% 71% 37% 22% 14%
4 $2,599 -$13 -$2,970 -$384 $5,235 $4,163 $3,168 $2,357 $1,731 Lower Cost Solution
5 $2,599 -$16 -$3,713 -$1,130 $6,544 $5,203 $3,960 $2,946 $2,164
6 $2,599 -$20 -$4,455 -$1,876 $7,853 $6,244 $4,752 $3,535 $2,597 From Start
100%
6 circuits
5 circuits
75%
4 circuits
3 circuits
50%
2 circuits
1 circuit
25%

0%

-25%
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

For long applications (0-550m) OM3-550 m premium is

justified over Singlemode if multiple circuits are activated
Fiber Solution Selection Summary
Utilize OM1 62.5 micron where 10Gbps is not
envisioned for at least 10 years

If initial budgets are tight, use lower performance

OM3 150 meters

OM3 compliant 300 meter fiber is the best choice for

0-300 m

OM3 550 m is the best choice for 301-550 m

Use SM for even longer channels

LOMMF Market Forecast

Over time, OM1 and OM2 fibers expected to

disappear for new installations
OM3 and longer length variations of OM3
expected to dominate LAN and short campus
links
OM2 (old 50m)

Market OM1 (62.5m)

Share OM3
(Laser Optimized)

Time
Jim Hulsey
The SFF Connector Choice For
10 Gb/s Ethernet Transceivers
10 Gb/s transceivers with SFF connectors already available
The SFF connector choice: LC
Picolight: 10GBASE-SR with LC pigtails
Cielo: 10GBASE-SR, LR with LC pigtails
Finisar
OpNext: 10GBASE-LR with LC pigtails
Ignis Optics: Xenpak compliant (Hot-pluggable,
2 x GBIC size), 10GBASE-LR, ER with SC or
LC receptacles
Optillion: Xenpak compliant, 10GBASE-LR,
ER with LC receptacles only
LC is the only small-form factor connector on 10G transceivers
Ciscos Entire new 1G SFP line

Cisco has adopted the LC exclusively

Final Thoughts
Laser-Optimized Multimode Fiber has a clear role to
play in optical Ethernet network migration to 10
Gigabit per second speeds, and for distances up to
550 meters.
The cabling cost premium is easily justified based on
future savings associated with 10Gbit/sec. Electronics
and/or mode-conditioning patchcords.
10Gigabit per second transceivers are entering the
market, and are based on the LC SFF Connector.

QUESTIONS?
 Jim

SYSTIMAX SCS
Advancing Network Performance