What's optical transceiver chip

by Fiber-MART.COM

An optical transceiver chip is an integrated circuit (IC) that transmits and receives data using optical fiber rather than electrical wire. Optical fiber, also called fiber optic, refers to the technology associated with the transfer of information in light beams or pulses along solid transparent fibers or cables.

 

 

Optical transceiver chips facilitate the use of fiber to the premises (FTTP) services, in which optical fiber runs from central hubs all the way to the end users. This can provide extremely high-speed Internet access. Optical fiber systems can also be used to transmit and receive telephone communications and to receive digital television broadcasts.

 

In March 2007, IBM demonstrated the prototype of an optical transceiver chip capable of transferring data at up to 160 Gbps (gigabits per second), which is 1,600 times the speed of an Ethernet connection operating at 100 megabits per second ( Mbps ). The chip is made using specialized semiconductor materials including indium phosphide and gallium arsenide, is roughly the size of the tip of a pencil eraser and consumes negligible power. The full name of the device is "160-Gbps, 16- channel , full-duplex , single-chip CMOS optical transceiver." It is expected to enter the consumer and business markets by 2010.

 

The chief advantage of optical technology is its high data transfer rate , which can in practice be several thousand times as fast as a cable modem Internet connection. Theoretically, the IBM device can reduce the download time of large files such as high-definition movies from several hours to a few seconds. Optical transceiver chips may be useful in local area network s (LANs) and wide area network s (WANs) for homes, businesses, academic institutions and government agencies. The technology may also be useful in the design and manufacture of optical computer s.

How does a fiber optic cable work?

by Fiber-MART.COM

Over the last 20 years or so, fiber optic lines have taken over and transformed the long distance telephone industry. Optical fibers are also a huge part of making the Internet available around the world. When fiber replaces copper for long distance calls and Internet traffic, it dramatically lowers costs.

 

To understand how a fiber optic cable works, imagine an immensely long drinking straw or flexible plastic pipe. For example, imagine a pipe that is several miles long. Now imagine that the inside surface of the pipe has been coated with a perfect mirror. Now imagine that you are looking into one end of the pipe. Several miles away at the other end, a friend turns on a flashlight and shines it into the pipe. Because the interior of the pipe is a perfect mirror, the flashlight's light will reflect off the sides of the pipe (even though the pipe may curve and twist) and you will see it at the other end. If your friend were to turn the flashlight on and off in a morse code fashion, your friend could communicate with you through the pipe. That is the essence of a fiber optic cable.

 

Making a cable out of a mirrored tube would work, but it would be bulky and it would also be hard to coat the interior of the tube with a perfect mirror. A real fiber optic cable is therefore made out of glass. The glass is incredibly pure so that, even though it is several miles long, light can still make it through (imagine glass so transparent that a window several miles thick still looks clear). The glass is drawn into a very thin strand, with a thickness comparable to that of a human hair. The glass strand is then coated in two layers of plastic.

 

By coating the glass in plastic, you get the equivalent of a mirror around the glass strand. This mirror creates total internal reflection, just like a perfect mirror coating on the inside of a tube does. You can experience this sort of reflection with a flashlight and a window in a dark room. If you direct the flashlight through the window at a 90 degree angle, it passes straight through the glass. However, if you shine the flashlight at a very shallow angle (nearly parallel to the glass), the glass will act as a mirror and you will see the beam reflect off the window and hit the wall inside the room. Light traveling through the fiber bounces at shallow angles like this and stays completely within the fiber.

 

To send telephone conversations through a fiber optic cable, analog voice signals are translated into digital signals (see How analog and digital recording works for details). A laser at one end of the pipe switches on and off to send each bit. Modern fiber systems with a single laser can transmit billions of bits per second -- the laser can turn on and off several billions of times per second. The newest systems use multiple lasers with different colors to fit multiple signals into the same fiber.

 

Modern fiber optic cables can carry a signal quite a distance -- perhaps 60 miles (100 km). On a long distance line, there is an equipment hut every 40 to 60 miles. The hut contains equipment that picks up and retransmits the signal down the next segment at full strength.

Do You Know about SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ Transceiver?

by Fiber-MART.COM

There is a growing need in the data center for upgrading from 10G to 40G switch connections due to server consolidation, virtualization, and performance improvements. However, for many data center operators this upgrade and conversion is more challenging based on two primary factors. First, the potential for a reconfiguration of the physical layer of the network based on the reduced reach of the OM3/OM4 multimode optics from 10GBASE-SR (300/400 m) to 40GBASE-SR4 (100/150 m) and second, the existing fiber optic cabling plant may need to be upgraded based on the additional fiber count needed to support the IEEE-defined 40GBASE-SR4 parallel optics. These two factors bring the SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver to market.

 

What Is SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ Transceiver?

 

As we all know, a fiber optic transceiver may either operate on multimode fiber (MMF) or single-mode fiber (SMF). However, a SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver can be used with both MMF and SMF without the need for any software/hardware changes to the transceiver module or any additional hardware in the network. Usually, this transceiver is based on IEEE defined 40GBASE-LR4 specifications and operates in the 1310 nm band. It uses a duplex LC connector and supports distances up to 150 m over OM3 or OM4 multimode fiber and up to 500 m over single-mode fiber (different vendor may have different specifications). This is usually accomplished by combining four 10G optical channels at different wavelengths (1270, 1290, 1310, and 1330 nm) inside the transceiver module to transmit and receive an aggregate 40G signal over a single pair of multimode or single-mode fibers. At present, there are two main SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver in the market. One is the Arista QSFP-40G-UNIV universal QSFP+ transceiver, and the other is the Juniper JNP-QSFP-40G-LX4 40GBASE-LX4 QSFP+ transceiver. These two types QSFP+ for both MMF and SMF are widely installed and used for upgrading from 10G to 40G networks without modification or expansion.

 

Advantages of SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ Transceiver

With the increase in data center bandwidth requirements, migration to 40G for switch to switch connections is in higher demand. SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver is designed to allow for seamless migrations from existing 10 to 40GbE networking without requiring a redesign or expansion of the fiber network. Besides, this transceiver also provides a cost-effective solution to migrate from multimode to single-mode fiber, allows a single-mode fiber infrastructure for distances up to 500m. The advantages of SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ are as following.

 

Cabling Migrating from 10G to 40G

Existing 40G transceivers for short reach, QSFP+ SR4 and the extended reach QSFP+ CSR4, utilize four independent 10G transmitters and receivers for an aggregate 40G link, which use an MPO-12 connector and require 8-fiber parallel multimode fiber (OM3 or OM4). However, a SMF&MMF QSFP+ uses duplex LC connector, which is consistent with the existing 10G connections, which are also commonly MMF cables with duplex LC connectors. Therefore, a SMF&MMF QSFP+ allows the same cables to be used for direct 10G connections to direct 40G connections, resulting in zero-cost cabling migration.

 

Increase Number of 40G Links in the Network

As existing MMF 40G solutions need the use of 8 fibers for a 40G link, customers have to add additional fiber to increase the number of 40G links. By deploying the SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver, customers increase the number of 40G links by 4 times without making any changes to their fiber infrastructure, which greatly expand network scale and performance.

 

Migrate from Multimode to Single-mode Fiber

As data rates increase from 40G to 100G and beyond to 400G, there is a strong desire for data centers to move to single-mode fiber for cost effectiveness. Due to the limitations of multimode transceivers to support existing distances with ever increasing data rates, migrating to 100G and 400G in the future will be simpler with single-mode fiber. However, the single-mode transceivers typically cost up to 4 times more compared to multimode transceivers. As SMF&MMF QSFP+ interoperates with 10km QSFP-LR4 optics, it s a cost effective solution for SM fiber infrastructure for distances up to 500 m.

 

Simplify the Data Centers with a Mix of MMF and SMF Deployments

The SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver offers the unique advantage of operating on both multimode and single-mode fiber without any requirement for additional hardware or software. Customers can consolidate their optics and use SMF&MMF QSFP +in their network irrespective of the fiber type, which makes full use of the existing cabling systems, reduces the cost of deployment and of support, and simplify purchasing and deployments.

 

Conclusion

The SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver enables data centers running at 10G today to seamlessly upgrade to 40G without having to re-design or modify the cable infrastructure, which allows organizations to migrate their existing 10G infrastructure to 40G at zero cost of fiber and to expand the infrastructure with low capital investment. It also offers a transition path for customer planning migrations to single-mode fiber in data centers with a single transceiver that bridges the gap between multi-mode and single-mode optics. With high-density 40G switches on hand, Fiberstore SMF&MMF 40G QSFP+ transceiver provides a cost-effective solution for migrating to next-generation 40G data center deployments.

The market forecast of the active optical cable (AOC)

The active optical cable (AOC) market has experienced many challenges, from the Integrate acquisitions, to the entrance of the Asia suppliers which provide low-cost price, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the influx of the Taiwan manufacturers and finally to the intellectual property battle between established suppliers.

By 2012, the market restored the stability and is expected to achieve sustained strong growth in 2013.

 

At present, InfiniBand market occupies the largest market share and has been transferred to 14G FDR QSFP+. While the traditional data center still remains in the 10G QSFP+ format. The active optical cable (AOC) also has potential development opportunities in other protocol, such as SAS, Fibre Channel and PCI Express and other protocol whose transmission data rate is over 10G.

 

As a professional fiber optic products manufacturer and supplier, we offer 40G QSFP+ modules, 40G QSFP+ cables and other products, such as 10G SFP+ Modules, XFP Transceivers and so on. For more information, please contact our customer services.

10GSFP-AOC-5

SFP+ AOC (Active Optical Cable) assemblies use active circuits to support longer distances than standard passive or Active SFP+ Copper Cables. They are designed for high speed, short range data link via optical fiber wire. SFP+ AOC cables provide high performance Enhanced Small Form Factor Pluggable (SFP+) interface and is a cost effective solution for Data Center/storage and all short range data application.
All our SFP+ cables are 100% compatible with major brands like Cisco, Juniper, Enterasys, Extreme, H3C and so on. If you would like to order high quality compatible SFP+ cables and get worldwide delivery, we believe Fiber-mart.COM is your best choice.

Specifications

• 10Gb/s serial optical interface
• Length: 5 meters
• Wire AWG: Fiber
• Connector 1 : SFP+ AOC
• Connector 2 : SFP+ AOC
• Low cost alternative to fiber optic assemblies
• Low power consumption
• Bend insensitive fiber
• Single 3.3V power supply
• RoHS-6 compliant
• Mechanical specifications compliant with SFF-8432
• Electrical specifications compliant with SFF-8431
• Operating Temperature: 0-70℃
• Support digital diagnostics monitoring for module temperature, Vcc, Rx input power, Tx_Disable and Rx_LOS
• Hot pluggable
• 12C communication bus

 

EXFO OTDR LAUNCHES FASTER TEST SOLUTION FOR FTTH

An innovative testing solution lets FTTH deployers test their networks 85 percent faster than the methods used today. The intelligent Optical Link Mapper (iOLM), recently launched by test equipment supplier EXFO, automates the setting of complex acquisition parameters for the optical time-domain resolution (OTDR) equipment that testers use to characterize fiber networks. The solution also presents the pass/fail status of the FTTH network in an easy-to-understand manner. EXFO says the tool is simple enough that installation teams – even Tier-1 technicians – can get up and running with minimal training.

 

The rapid growth of fiber to the home has put pressure on network operators to hire technicians and train them as fast as possible. The iOLM application was designed to help reduce operators’ need for hiring and training. It dynamically chooses the optimal testing parameters and returns a clear link view, using icons and diagnoses to pinpoint elements that failed the test. It can launch and analyze multiple acquisitions, and then compile and interpret the results, within seconds via one click. It also allows users to connect to the fiber, check power readings, get a link map and find potential faults without disconnecting the fiber.

Housed in the cutting-edge FTB-1 Platform and developed based on EXFO’s FTB-730 OTDR hardware, the iOLM leverages new and advanced algorithms to identify every fault on the network, ensuring no faulty network is left behind. Prompt diagnoses of possible faults guide users to rapidly fix the issues, increasing the overall quality of fiber optic network characterization.