Corning has announced its newest singlemode optical fibre, Corning SMF-28 Ultra 200 fibre, which it claims is the industry’s first 200-micron fibre with a 9.2 micron nominal mode-field diameter (MFD). SMF-28 Ultra 200 fibre enables the design of smaller, lighter, fully backwards-compatible, high-fibre, high-density cables.
Conventional ITU-T recommendation G.657-compliant 200-micron fibres may have a nominal mode field diameter (MFD) as low as 8.6 microns, resulting in an mismatch with legacy 9.2 micron MFD ITU-T G.652-compliant fibre in existing networks. By combining ITU-T G.657.A1 compliance with a 9.2 micron MFD, SMF-28 Ultra 200 fibre uniquely delivers enhanced bend resistance and seamless integration with the installed ITU-T G.652 fibre base in a 200-micron product.
“Corning SMF-28 Ultra 200 fibre helps solve one of the world’s toughest network challenges – increasing fibre capacity without taking up more space,” said John Igel, vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber and Cable. “With the problem of MFD compatibility eliminated, network operators have the freedom to deploy fibre-rich 200-micron cables to address capacity and congestion – with the proven performance of SMF-28 Ultra fibre.”
Corning’s family of SMF-28 Ultra fibres offers enhanced optical bending resilience for innovative cable design with a macro-bending response surpassing the requirements of ITU-T G.657.A1 recommendations. The fibre’s low attenuation improves signal reach up to 10 per cent over conventional ITU-T G.652 fibre types and increases coverage as much as 20 per cent when served by a point-of-presence or central office. The SMF-28 Ultra fibre portfolio delivers better system margin for high-capacity performance at 100G and beyond, and for next-generation passive optical networks (PON).
Corning will demonstrate its new SMF-28 Ultra 200 fibre at the OFC 2015 conference in Los Angeles, California, on 24-26 March. Other demonstrations will include: ClearCurve fibre, Vascade EX3000 submarine fibre, and Centrix and Pretium EDGE high-density fibre management and data centre products.