Go the distance with OM4 optical fibre!

OM3 and OM4 specifications refer to the glass and cable construction of optical fibre and are generally the fibres of choice in optical fibre patch leads for multimode systems.

Data network speeds have increased substantially in the past 10 years, especially in the mass communication Data Centre environment, where set-up cost and short communication distances are the order of the day.

VCSEL (Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) optical lasers are small, PCB mounted and are high-speed switching devices. This type of technology is still very economical when compared with LED  data networks of the past.

OM3 and OM4 multimode 50/125 µm fibres have been manufactured and optimised to connect to high-speed VCSEL optical lasers, operating at 850nm wavelength. The VCSEL lasers transmit a sharp light pulse into the fibre core, underfilling the fibre core (reduced number of modes or light travel paths), thus providing a higher effective modal bandwidth, resulting in longer operating distances for 10 to 100Gb/s communication data networks.

Differences:
The physical glass properties of OM3 and OM4 optical fibres are very similar, however OM4 multimode optical fibre has been further optimised to provide more than a twofold increase in effective modal bandwidth @ 850nm,  from 2000MHz-km to 4700MHz-km.

Advantages:
OM4 multimode optical fibre is recommended to be used where network distances need to be increased, especially with large Data Centres or Enterprise networks. It is also essential to ensure that the supporting connectivity and cable management is of high quality.

Therefore, the primary benefit that OM4 provides, is additional reach at extended bandwidth.

Warren & Brown Technologies has a full range of OM3 and OM4 connectivity infrastructure to suit any network, large or small.

To see our full range of products, please go to product page:

Optical Fibre Patch Cords