Poly(styrene)-based graded-index plastic optical fiber for home networks

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering
• Telecommunications

Background:

• Plastic optical fibers (POFs) are crucial for high-speed data transmission.
• Graded-index POFs (GI-POFs) offer enhanced bandwidth compared to step-index POFs.
• Current GI-POFs face challenges in achieving both low loss and high bandwidth for home network applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel poly(styrene) (PSt)-based GI-POF.
• To achieve low optical loss and high bandwidth suitable for home networks.
• To investigate the effect of dibenzothiophene (DBT) doping on PSt-based GI-POF performance.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of PSt-DBT-based GI-POF.
• Measurement of optical attenuation at 670-680 nm wavelength.
• Measurement of bandwidth for a 50 m fiber length.

Main Results:

• The fabricated PSt-DBT-based GI-POF exhibited an optical attenuation of 166-193 dB/km at 670-680 nm.
• The GI-POF demonstrated a high bandwidth of 4.4 GHz for a 50 m length.
• The developed GI-POF met the stringent requirements for home network applications.

Conclusions:

• The PSt-DBT-based GI-POF successfully meets the low loss (<200 dB/km) and high bandwidth (>2.0 GHz) criteria for home networks.
• Dibenzothiophene doping is an effective strategy for enhancing the performance of PSt-based GI-POFs.
• This novel GI-POF presents a promising solution for future high-speed home networking infrastructure.