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Lights Fantastic:

The Current State of

Fiber Optics

Presented by Lorenz Cartellieri

President, Experior Laboratories

lorenz@experiorlabs.com

Co-Authored by Dennis Horwitz

VP, Micronor Inc.

dennis@micronor.com

FLECK RESEARCH

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Lorenz Cartellieri

President and co-founder

lorenz@experiorlabs.com

Phone: 805-483-3400

Headquartered in Oxnard, Southern California, Experior Laboratories, Inc. is a third party, independenttesting, design verification and qualification test laboratory. Specializing in fiber optics, electricalconnectors and general environmental testing, Experior provides services to componentmanufacturers, military contractors, integrators and system providers within the telecom, datacom,military, aerospace and industrial markets. The company also provides ISO accredited calibrationservices for fiber optic / lightwave test instruments. Provided testing services are in accordance withBellcore/Telcordia requirements and the company is MIL-STD-790 approved by DLA/DSCC for QPLtesting of electrical and fiber optic components. Experior Labs is also a member of the prestigiousVerizon FOC (Fiber Optic Component) Program as a certified ITL (Independent Test Lab).

Testing • Certification • Calibration

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Testing • Certification • Calibration

Fiber optic connector

Testing/qualification

Electrical connector

Testing/qualification

Material testing

Environmental testing

Climatic/Dynamic

ISO accredited

calibration services

Training division

Experior University

FOA Certified School

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1. Fiber Basics. Why Fiber Optics?

2. Telecommunications/Broadband Trends

3. Military and Aerospace Trends

4. Industrial Trends

5. Medical Trends

6. Summary

7. Q & A

Outline

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• COTS = Commercial Off The Shelf (products or technology)

• TCO = Total Cost of Ownership

• MMF = Multimode Fiber (Typical operation at 850 or 1300nm)

• BW = Bandwidth, measured in MHz-km

• POF = Plastic Optical Fiber (Large Core MMF, up to 1000 mm)

• HCS = Hard Clad Silica Multimode Fiber (Typically 200/230 MMF)

• OM1 = Standard BW 62.5/125 MMF (200/500 MHz-km)

• OM2 = Standard BW 50/125 MMF (500/500 MHz-km)

• OM3 = Laser Optimized Medium-BW 62.5/125 MMF (Effective BW=2000 MHz-km)

• OM4 = Laser Optimized High BW 50/125 MMF (Effective BW=4700 MHz-km)

• GbE = Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gb/s)

• SMF = Single-Mode Fiber (1300, 1550 and 1625nm)

• OS1 = Standard 9/125 SMF

• OS2 = Low Water Peak 9/125 SMF

• WDM = Wavelength Division Multiplexing

• CWDM = Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing

• DWDM = Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Some Common Acronyms

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Low-OrderMode

DispersionHigh-Order

Mode

Output

Pulse

Input

Pulse

Multimode Step Index

n2

n1

Output

Pulse

Input

Pulse

Single-Mode Step Index

n2

n1

DispersionOutput

Pulse

Input

Pulse

Multimode Graded Index

n2

n1

Multimode Step Index Fiber

• Short distance links, <100 m

• 10-100 Mb/s, Single λ

• POF (1mm) or HCS (200/230)

Multimode Graded Index Fiber

• Short-Medium distance links, 10m - 2000m

• 100 Mbs - 10Gb/s, Single λ

• 50/125 (OM2/OM4) or 62.5/125 (OM1/OM3)

Single Mode Fiber

• Long distance links, 1000m -100km

• 2.5/10/40 Gb/s, Single λ or WDM

• 50/125 or 62.5/125

1. Fiber Basics

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• Small Size and Light Weight

• Highest Bandwidth-Density Product

• Ground Isolation

• Noise Immunity

• Intrinsic Safety

• Lightning and EMP Protection

• Intrusion Resistant

• Wide Temperature Range

• Non-Obsolescence

• Material Availability

Copper

Fiber

Power Line

Data Errors

No Data Errors

Modulation Bandwidth (Mhz)

Attenuation (dB/km)

SM

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

6004002000 800 1000

MM-GI

RG-59

RG-58RG-62

POF PCS

Advantages of Fiber Optics

Copper

Fiber

Data Errors

No Data Errors

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• More expensive

Fiber optic components, connectors and cable assemblies are

generally more expensive than copper-based components.

• Requires More Training

Fiber optic installers need more training than copper cable

installers.

• Requires More Care

Fiber optics is very susceptible to mishandling and dirt.

Workers dealing with fiber optics have to use extreme care not

to damage or degrade performance of the fiber optic system.

Disadvantages of Fiber Optics

$$

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Communications/Signal Transport

• Wired and Optical Wireless

• Digital Links, Data Bus, Network

• RF Photonics

Sensors

• Intrinsic (All Fiber) - Bragg Gratings, Smart Structures

• Extrinsic (Hybrid) – Rotary Encoder, Fiber Optic Gyro

Light and Image Transmission

• Illumination – spot lighting, medical

• Imaging Optics – borescopes, surgery

• Laser Cutting & Marking – surgery, industrial fabrication

How is Fiber Optics Used?

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What is most important fiber attribute in telecom?

• Fiber offers the lowest TCO for long haul transmission

• Highest bandwidth over long distances

• Upgradable for increasing data rates

• TCO of Fiber and Copper equipment is near-parity but the

high cost of Fiber To The Premises (FTTP) construction

favors new housing over existing housing.

What is driving fiber construction?

• Ever increasing need for more bandwidth by consumers

and businesses as well as potential operational cost

savings from PON networks.

2. Telecommunications Trends

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March 2010

Ten Most Important Trends of the Next Decade

#3. Bandwidth Is The New Black Gold

Internet Traffic is ever increasing … and new Network Equipment

is becoming internally more Optical to keep pace!

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• For data centers, Google considers MMF too limited

and too expensive – the cost of the fiber is more than

the optics. Each blade is expected to have 20 100G

ports – that’s 2 Tb/s per blade.

• Managing 40 SMFs at the blade is a lot easier than the

multimode options that would involve 400 fibers per

blade. Just consider the cost and fiber management

issues!

• Google supports new 10GX10λCFP module for SMF to

2 km. Later 10X10MSA.ORG industry group

announcements offered 10km and 40km versions.

• Google is trying to drive down the cost of hardware!

Telecom News Briefs of 2011

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• In May 2011, Corning announced that it has more orders for fiber than

it can handle. Verizon is one of the reasons for the shortfall. The

company has ordered 20% more fiber than expected – despite shifting

its FiOS deployments from passing homes to customer acquisition.

Good news for fiber manufacturer OFS too!

More Telecom News Briefs…

• Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), is a

group of 16 Utah cities that joined together to form a state-of-the-art fiber-

optic network. Where FTTH investment is lacking by the broadband

sector, municipalities are choosing to make the investment to bring high

speed broadband to residents and businesses.

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Fiber Optic Cable Growth

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About Telecom Connector Trends

More Bandwidth = Requires More FibersMore Bandwidth = Smaller & Denser InterconnectsMore Bandwidth = Ultimate shift from MMF to SMF?

• SMF-based DWDM technology evolves further in Submarine, Backbone and

Metro networks. More wavelengths ultimately means more fibers required.

• Traditional MMF applications such as Data Centers and LANs will migrate to

faster 40G and 100G Ethernet which is based on Parallel Optics Transmission.

But Google makes a good case for moving to SMF because of ultimate MMF BW

limitations – fewer fibers to manage.

• Lower cost ST and SC are giving way to smaller LC as the dominant connector for

transceiver interfaces. Multifiber interfaces employ MTP/MPO array connectors.

Duplex LC

MTP

12-fiber MTP/MPO

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The Future is Light(Aviation Week, 24-October-2011)By Nan Mattai, VP-Eng & Tech, Rockwell Collins

The delivery of the first Boeing 787 represented more than

just the aircraft’s revolutionary composite materials, fuel-

efficient engines and health monitoring and reporting systems

… fiber optics played a critical role in the avionics

systems, saving weight and protecting against

electromagnetic interference.

Fiber is presently used similar to traditional copper wiring,

simply carrying a single digital signal between two fixed pieces

of equipment. In the future, aircraft networks will carry

multiple analog and digital signals along a single cable via

different wavelengths of light …10,000 times faster than today.

3. Military & Aerospace Trends

787 Cockpit

First 787 Delivery to ANA

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China Building Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) WeaponsWashington Times, October 2011

A declassified intelligence reports China’s military is

developing EMP weapons that Beijing plans to use against

U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over Taiwan.

EMP weapons mimic the gamma-ray pulse caused by a

nuclear blast that knocks out all electronics, including

computers and automobiles, over wide areas. The

phenomenon was discovered in 1962 after an aboveground

nuclear test in the Pacific disabled electronics in Hawaii.

First Look: Electronic Warfare MissileAviation Week, November 2011

The U.S. has built, flown, pointed and triggered a missile

designed specifically to carry a directed energy weapon (DEW).

The payload, expected to be operational soon, will be able to

disrupt, shut down, spoof or damage electrical systems.

Boeing has been working with AFRL on the Counter-Electronics

High-power microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP).

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VPX Bulks Up With New SpecsMilitary Embedded Systems, January-2009

VITA 46.12 (Fiber Optics on VPX) for embedded computing systems assigns the

location of the P5/P6 VPX connector as the home for the fiber optic connector,

which can be one of the following:

• Mechanical Transfer (MT): 8 or 12 channel ribbon connector

• Expanded Beam (EB) multichannel connector

• ARINC 801 (Radial LUXCIS) connectors

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Military and Aerospace Connectors

• Military Aerospace is dominated by MIL-DTL-38999

Series III /60 and /61 Tight Tolerance Fiber Optic-

Specific and ARINC 801 series (Radiall Luxcis) fiber optic

connectors. Some specific applications use ITT Cannon

PHD and Deutsch MC3/MC5 series connectors.

• Commercial Aerospace is dominated by Boeing-preferred

ARINC 801 (Radiall Luxcis) and Airbus-preferred EN4531

(Souriau ELIO) optical connectors.

• Existing NAVSEA applications dominated by MIL-PRF-

28876 (Circular) and MIL-C-85322 (MIL-ST) /16 and /17

fiber optic connectors. Next Generation NAVSEA and

NAVAIR applicators may see start of deployment of MIL-

PRF-64266 (NGConn) optical connectors.

• US Army/Marine Tactical Ground applications are

dominated by MIL-PRF-83526 series TFOCA

hermaphroditic connectors.

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4. Industrial and Automotive Trends

What are the leading issues and trends?

• Safety, security and reliability

• Environmental friendly

• Reducing operating costs via automation

� Automate processes

� Deploy enterprise-wide high-speed networks

• Reduce operating costs via energy conservation

� Replace old equipment with smart, energy efficient models

� Replace large high capacity motors with energy efficient Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) such as used in HVAC, pumps, elevators, conveyors and machine tools

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Where does fiber optics fit in?

• Deploying fiber optic cabling and networks around the factory eliminate

EMI problems caused by RF/wireless interference and large electrical

equipment

• Fiber optic sensors solve EMI issues introduced with replacing old energy-

hungry motor drives with new VFD systems.

• Passive fiber optic sensors can be easier to install and cheaper to deploy

in hazardous locations

What are the challenges to using fiber optics?

• Unlike the well-trained and procedure-oriented Telecom and

Military/Aerospace sectors, the industrial world is mean, dirty and

hazardous – with lesser emphasis on proper training

• Optical products must be especially designed to be easy to deploy, user

friendly and user tolerant

• Industrial market can be very “old school” and prefer copper solutions

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Lower-cost Harsh Environment Fiber Connectors Based On Commercial Standards Begin To Displace Expensive Military Style Connectors

News: Corning Multifiber ConnectorEarns IP69K Industrial RatingConnector Specifier, September 2008

OptiTip MT connector has passed the test requirements of

IP69K and IP68 standards for industrial applications.

Products rated to IP69K must be able to stand up to high-

pressure and high-temperature wash-down procedures at

close range—out to six inches away. IP68-rated products

must be able to withstand long periods of under-pressure

immersion in liquids while also providing protection from

dust or other debris.

Other connector manufacturers have also introduced

ruggedized optical connectors by integrating environmental

protection with COTS connector designs.

Corning OptiTip MT

Connector rated IP69K

Molex adds New

Rugged Optical

Industrial Connectors

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News: Laser Sparks Hope of Reduced Auto EmissionsPhotonics Spectra, July 2011

Experiments by Japanese researchers have

revealed that laser-induced ignition offers significant

advantages over a conventional spark-ignition

system, such as higher probability to ignite leaner

mixtures, reduction of erosion effects, increases of

engine efficiency, or shorter combustion time.

Automobiles clearly represent an ultimate

destination for laser spark plugs, but industrial

engines less restricted by weight and cost may see

such ignition systems sooner.

NOTE: Fiber optic-based automobile networks have

been available for over 10 years now. MOST

(Media Oriented Systems Transport) uses POF and

HCS.MOST Automotive Network

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Molex Circular MT Expanded Beam Interconnect

Solution for Medical, Video and

Telecommunications Wins 2010 Chicago

Innovation Award

Connector Ensures Reliable Data Link Between

Surgeon and Patient(Chicago Sun Times, November-2010)

The Circular MT Expanded Beam Interconnect precision lens

ensures that surgical-equipment connections deliver optimal peak

performance. The rugged interconnect can handle a hospital

operating-room environment while being plugged and unplugged

thousands of times without losing its effectiveness. Connections

can be cleaned quickly and effectively by any hospital staff member,

saving the expense and time of waiting for a special technician.

5. Medical Trends

Da Vinci Surgical Robot

is a prime example of

where interconnect

reliability is critical.

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Force Sensing Ablation Catheter Calculates Pressure Applied With Embedded FBG SensorDiagnostic and Interventional CardiologyApril 2010

The next generation TactiCath force-sensing

ablation catheter was recently granted CE mark

and unveiled at German Cardiac Society meeting

in Mannheim, Germany. The product gives

physicians a real-time, objective measure of

contact force during the treatment of cardiac

arrhythmias. It includes a smaller fiber optic sensor

at the tip, a force-time integral display and

automatically generated summary reports of the

procedure.

Contact force is derived by three optical fibers

which measure micro deformation of the catheter

tip using Fiber Bragg Grating technology.

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Micronor MRIMicronor MRIMicronor MRIMicronor MRI----Compatible Fiber Optic Compatible Fiber Optic Compatible Fiber Optic Compatible Fiber Optic

Encoder wins Control Engineering’s 2010 Encoder wins Control Engineering’s 2010 Encoder wins Control Engineering’s 2010 Encoder wins Control Engineering’s 2010

Engineer’s Choice AwardEngineer’s Choice AwardEngineer’s Choice AwardEngineer’s Choice AwardControl Engineering, June 2010

Micronor's MR318 MRI-Compatible Fiber Optic Rotary

Encoder won Control Engineering's 2010 Engineer's

Choice Award in the Motion Control category. With a

readership of nearly 90,000, CE readers voted for best

products in 29 categories in the control marketplace.

The MR318 is the world's first and only commercially-

available non-metallic rotary encoder specifically designed

to operate "transparently" in extreme electromagnetic

fields and has become an enabler for functional-MRI

research and advanced MRI phantoms.

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Technical

• EMI has become a greater design and real world mitigation issue with technology shifts,

higher data rates and denser products. Fiber optic links, networks and sensors are

displacing copper as a mainstream solution.

• Fiber’s nearly infinite bandwidth and low loss over distance have always been its natural

selling point over copper in telecom and datacom.

• Cloud computing drives bandwidth needs and smaller, higher density interconnect

solutions in the CO and data centers as well as outside plant applications (e.g. cell sites)

Market Opportunities

• Large Telecom/Broadband programs such as FTTH are dominated by just a few large

OEMs. It is especially tough and expensive to qualify as a supplier to major customers

such as Verizon who require extensive product testing, ongoing continuous improvement

programs and periodic site audits by certified Verizon-Approved Auditors.

• Outside of Telecom/Broadband/Datacom markets, all facets of fiber optic supply chain

serving the Harsh Environment Markets have traditionally experienced annual double digit

growth.

6. Summary

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This short course provides a very practical, hands-on overview to fiber optics with an emphasis on designing and deploying the technology in harsh and hazardous environments – including military, aerospace, shipboard and industrial applications.

OFC-NFOEC 2012 is March 4-8, 2012 in Los Angeles-CA

Short Course 291:

Hands-On Fiber Optics For Engineers Designing For Military,

Aerospace, Shipboard and Industrial Harsh Environmental

Applications

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7. Questions?

HeadquartersHeadquartersHeadquartersHeadquarters

Experior Laboratories, Inc.

1635 Ives Avenue • Oxnard, California 93033

Phone: +1.805.483.3400

Fax: +1.805.483.5484

Customer ServiceCustomer ServiceCustomer ServiceCustomer Service

Jessica Pielaet

Phone: +805. 483.3400

Email: jessica@experiorlabs.com

Sales Sales Sales Sales –––– Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic

Roger Rutz

Phone: +1.805.402.8118

Email: roger@experiorlabs.com

www.experiorlabs.com www.experioruniversity.com