Multimode Patch Cable Solution

Great Challenge with Existing Multimode Patch Cables

As we know, single mode fiber cables are suitable for 10 Gigabit Ethernet due to its advantages of high speed and capacity. For instance, LC to LC single mode fiber patch cable and LC to SC single mode fiber patch cable, work with high-performance in 10 Gigabit Ethernet. However, taking the manufacturing cost of single-mode patch cable into consideration, it still can’t be largely used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet at present. How to lower the cost without loss of transmission quality? Is there another patch cable with low cost that can substitute for single-mode patch cable, so that it can be deployed in a cost-effective manner in today’s fiber optic market? In order to solve this, researchers attempt to improve the performance of multimode patch cable to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

Emergency of OM3 Patch Cable

With the increasing improvement of network, 10 Gigabit Ethernet seems to have been inevitable, which also brings a big challenge to multimode patch cable. Accordingly, enhancing the performance of multimode patch cable has become an inexorable trend.

It is well known that traditional multimode patch cables are used to be applied in 100 Megabit Ethernet and 1 Gigabit Ethernet applications. Is it also able to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet? With the birth of OM3 patch cable, the answer is yes. (The word “OM” stands for optical multimode.) To fulfill the requirement of fiber optical market, the advanced multimode patch cable, OM3 patch cable is developed which can be also applied in 10 Gigabit Ethernet and transmit the signals at lengths up to 300 meters. As for the cost, it is just a little bit more expensive than original multimode patch cable that meets our need. The patch cables in the following figure are the OM3 patch cables, which are largely used in high-speed communication nowadays.

Superior OM4 Patch Cable

Apart from OM3 patch cable, there is a more superior multimode patch cable, OM4 patch cable which has come to fiber optic market. It is designed to support 10 Gigabit Ethernet at lengths up to 550 meters, which also supports 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet at lengths up to 150 meters. With the development of OM4 patch cable, the 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet could be available easily with a cost-effective method, thereby big preference is provided for the users. The patch cable in following figure is a kind of the OM4 patch cable for your reference.

Differences Between OM1, OM2 , OM3 and OM4

Compared with the OM1 and OM2 patch cables, OM3 and OM4 patch cables have been improved in many aspects. As for the diameter, both of their cladding diameters are 125 µm, but their core diameters are different. In details, the core diameters of OM1 patch cable is 62.5 µm, while the core diameters of OM2, OM3 and OM4 patch cables are smaller, 50 µm. As for the jacket colors, OM1 and OM2 patch cables are orange, but OM3 and OM4 are aqua. As for the optical source, traditional LED is used in OM1 and OM2 patch cables, as VCSEL is used in OM3 and OM4 patch cables with a lower loss. Besides, the bandwidth of the patch cables is designed to be wider and wider to face the high-speed network. From the following figure, we can know exactly the details of four multimode patch cables.

Each multimode patch cable is suitable for different applications. Generally, OM1 patch cable is always used to support 100 Megabit Ethernet applications at lengths up to 2000 meters; while OM2 patch cable is more commonly applied in 1 Gigabit Ethernet within a 550-meters transmission distance. As for OM3 patch cable, it is designed to support the applications of 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and its transmission distance can be 300 meters. As for OM4 patch cable, it is more superior that can support 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet and transmit signals at lengths up to 150 meters.

Conclusion

The development of science and technology will never stop, so does the improvement of multimode patch cable. With the unremittingly increasing requirement of today’s optical network, the multimode fiber optic cables would be developed to support 100 Gigabit Ethernet with longer transmission distance, even support 120 Gigabit Ethernet.

Comparison of Multimode Patch Cable and Single-mode Patch Cable

Fiber optic patch cables are also referred to as fiber optic patch cords or fiber optic jumper cables, which are designed to connect the optical transmitter, receiver and terminal box in a simple way. With the greater advantages, the fiber optic patch cables become an inevitable choice to set up large-scale network, instead of copper cables. To meet the requirement of fiber optics market, the types of fiber optic patch cables are being more and more diversifying, which can be classified by fiber cable mode, fiber cable structure, connector types, etc.

When selecting the fiber optic patch cables, you’ll find many types of fiber optic patch cables in your list and you may feel a little confused about the selection. In this article, it will mainly introduce the differences between single-mode patch cable and multimode patch cable, which will help you have a good knowledge of this classification.

Structure Difference

In general, the fiber optic patch cable is composed of fiber optic cable and connectors in the view of the external structure. As for the internal structure, it has one transparent glass core with the property of high refractive index in the center of fiber optic patch cable, which makes optical signal transmitted as long as possible with low loss. Meanwhile, the core is covered by a protective cladding with the property of low refractive index, which strengthens the function of low signal loss. Besides, the fiber optic patch cable has a thick jacket outside to protect its core and cladding from the damage of external environment.

However, in addition to the similarities, there is a true structural difference between single-mode patch cable and multimode patch cable. Detailedly, the core diameter of the multimode patch cable is always 50 μm or 62.5 μm, while the core diameter of the single-mode patch cable is much smaller, 9μm. From the following picture, we can know exactly what the core diameter difference is between single-mode patch cable and multimode patch cable.

Color Difference

Fiber optic patch cables are always differently colored, such as, yellow, orange. Is there any classification according to distinct color? In principle, the color of the single-mode patch cable is yellow, as the multimode patch cable is orange, aqua or light blue. That’s to say, yellow optic patch cable would be a single-mode patch cable, and the aqua fiber patch cable is usually a multimode patch cable. The following figure provides the color difference between single-mode patch cable and multimode patch cable for your reference.

Application Difference

For its small core diameter, the single-mode patch cable can only carry the single optical signal in the same mode with different frequencies, which has little modal dispersion in the signal transmission. Meanwhile, its light source is provided by laser, which means that the signal power in single-mode patch cable is very strong. Therefore, the single-mode patch cable is commonly used in the applications for long distance transmission. What should be noted is that, due to its advantages of wide transmission band, big capacity and high speed, it is much more expensive than the multimode patch cable.

As for the multimode patch cable, it is clearly different from the single-mode one. It can carry more than one light signals in the different modes, which requires a much longer core diameter. Under this condition, it seriously causes the disadvantage of large dispersion. The longer the distance the signal is transmitted through multimode patch cable, the larger the dispersion is. Besides, its light source is provided by LEDs and the signal power in multimode patch cable is not so strong as in single-mode patch cable accordingly. Hence, the multimode patch cable is designed for short distance transmission with lower cost.

Conclusion

It can be concluded from this article that different fiber patch cables are designed for specific aims. If you want the high-speed and long-distance transmission, you are suggested to choose the single-mode patch cable; if low cost and short-distance transmission is demanded, the multimode patch cable must meet your needs. Just choose the suitable one for your network.