NEW YORK, 14 March 2013. Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., part of Mitsubishi International Corp. of Tokyo, is introducing its ESKA Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) and cables, for use in place of glass fiber in such avionics applications as portable devices, light-guides, critical site lighting, sensing, and image transfer, as well as digital network communications, data transfer/collection, and point-to-point connections.
ESKA POF offers total EMI-RFI immunity, 100Mbit bandwidth, tight bend radius, superior flexibility, a visible transmission range, offset and separated transmittance, and support for -55°C to +105°C operations.
The new fiber and cable meet and comply with a host of standards, including: IEEE1394; ANSI & EIA; and Ethernet, Profibus, Sercos, and MOST; and UL 1581(VW-1) and UL 1666(Riser) (flame retardant). Plenum cable is under testing in accordance with NFP262 (former UL910).
ESKA POF consists of concentric double layers with the optically pure PMMA core and a transparent, thin outer layer, polymer cladding with a lower refractive index than the core so that transmitted light within the fiber is retained.
The FDA-certified PMMA core is a key component of the Mitsubishi Fiber-Torch. These side-glow light pipes, suited for critical site lighting, enable launched light to be evenly bright, glowing along the length of the fiber. This is made possible by high-accuracy processing, which produces a fiber with clad removed around circumferences of either 360 degrees or 220 degrees.
POF fiber/cables are engineered to meet extended accuracy/quality demands. Among these are value-added concepts such as: fiber shaping to pre-designed radii; angle cutting fiber; combining lenses with fiber; fiber arrays; special bundles; and any number of termination and connector techniques.
ESKA POF fiber is available in diameters from 0.25mm to 3mm, including single, bundled, and fused coherent image arrays. An assortment of standard and special fiber and cables suited for any number of environmental conditions is also offered. There are no technical or installation challenges.
POF fiber/cables can run alongside electrical cables, unlike copper, and will not interfere with other media. Unshielded “twisted pair” problems, grounding, or wire safety complications are never encountered.
POF network system cables terminate easily, either with inexpensive plastic connectors or connectorless transceivers; there is no need for expensive tools.
