- 22 June 2006 -

Firecomms fibre optic transceiver drives new connector system

Firecomms Ltd. has announced that its RCLED-based 650nm Fast Ethernet fibre optic transceiver (FOT) is the light source used in the new Electronic Links International connector system for IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet communication links over plastic optical fibre (POF).

Well suited to high-speed home, office, and industrial networks, Firecomms’ fully integrated transceiver RCLED-based 650nm FOT and highly-sensitive receiver FOT are based on the company’s proprietary technology for Resonant Cavity LEDs. Firecomms light sources, which operate at 100Mbps (125Mb) for 100m, and 200Mbps for a distance of 50m, are ideal for 100Mb Ethernet.

The new connector system that takes advantage of the Firecomms FOT has a through-hole mounting system, and can be customized for other mounting options. It has a maximum mating force of 3.0kgf, with an unmating force of 0.5 to 3.0kgf, and does not provide EMI interference.

“Not only does the Firecomms FOT significantly increase speeds, it reduces the cost per node for applications such as home office networks, PC-to-server, server-to-server, and industrial networks,” says Michael O’Gorman, product manager for Firecomms. “Its combination of speed and low cost make it a perfect drop-in solution for emerging set top box and other high bandwidth applications, like the Triple Play service of voice, video and Internet over a single broadband connection in home networks.”

Firecomms leads the development of devices to drive POF, a low-cost optical alternative to copper cabling. Due to its ease of use, large core tolerances, and low costs, POF is enjoying a huge growth in a wide range of applications. Created for consumer, industrial, and automotive applications in which plastic fiber can be used more easily and at lower cost than copper or glass fiber, POF is now used in millions of small area networks, such as those in use in many car models, and is rapidly gaining ground in home network and point-to-point interconnection. The POF market is estimated to be worth over $1 billion per year by the end of 2008.

www.firecomms.com

Electronic Links International www.electronic-links.com