Hamamatsu Photonics has developed an optical transceiver P16671-01AS that achieves fibre-optic communications at a data transmission speed of 1.25Gb/s.
For short-distance board-to-board communication within the equipment, it is usable with inexpensive plastic optical fibres achieving high-speed data communication at a low cost. Also, using it along with hard plastic clad fibres or large-diameter glass optical fibres extends the data transmission distance up to 100m, making it ideal for setting up a network or communicating between devices or equipment.
The P16671-01AS is a compact, low-cost optical transceiver. It consists of an optical transmitter for converting electrical signals into optical signals, an optical receiver for converting optical signals into electrical signals, and lens/connector assemblies for connecting to optical fibres. It uses a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) that can operate at higher speeds to increase the data transmission speed.
The challenges of handling a VCSEL, compared to a LED lie in the VCSEL light output differing from product to product. The output can also fluctuate with changes in ambient temperature. To solve this problem and achieve stable operation, the P16671-01AS employs a driver IC that compensates for different light outputs from the individual VCSEL. It also uses a high-speed light sensor and a signal processing IC that maximises the in-house designed light sensor characteristics. This, in turn, led to the successful development of an optical transceiver with a data transmission speed of 1.25Gb/s.