OFS has announced the Laser Wave Dual-Band OM4+ Multimode Optical Fiber, which it describes as “a cost-effective premium fiber optimized for bidirectional [BiDi] applications to support the next generation of high-density and low-power multimode links.” The fiber offers OM5-equivalent performance at the 850- and 910-nm wavelengths used for BiDi transmission, to maintain 100-meter reach for Terabit BiDi Ethernet applications 800G-SR4.2 and 1.6T-SR8.2. The new fiber is fully backward-compatible with OM4 standards and applications.
In addition to this capability, the Laser Wave Dual-Band OM4+ fiber have enabled OFS to bring to market multimode Rollable Ribbon cable technologies. In this cable type, colored optical fibers are partially bonded into a flexible ribbon that is rolled within ultra-compact cables, then the ribbons easily break-out into individual fibers or pairs for termination. LaserWave R-Pack and AccuRiser Rollable Ribbon Cables are available now, in what OFS explains is “an improved solution versus active optical cables [AOCs] and flat ribbon cables to accommodate the density requirements of AI-driven applications.”
David Knight, product line manager for multimode and hollow-core solutions with OFS, commented, “The accelerating growth of AI clusters is leading to increased demand for reliable, low-power multimode links. OFS LaserWave Multimode Rollable Ribbon Cables offer unsurpassed optical quality, reduced footprint, and easier termination to support rapid deployment of new data center infrastructure.”