We are developing red, green and blue LED-based transmitter modules to extend the reach of plastic optical fiber (POF) for low to medium-speed industrial control applications with typical data rates over 10Mbps.

With the red LED-based transmitter, the transmission data rate can reach 100Mbps. The transmission distance of red LED-based transmitter modules is limited by the absorption of POF and the decrease in output power of the LED over the operating temperature range. Standard POF shows a broader and lower optical loss in the visible green and blue wavelength range around 520nm and 470nm, respectively. The green and blue LEDs exhibit only a small decrease of output power at high temperature, because of the high bandgap offsets of the active material. With the green LED transmitter, the transmission distance can be extended due to the improved temperature stability of the LED and the spectrally wider transmission window of the standard POF.

Applications of these LED-based transmitter modules include different areas such as automotive, factory automation networks, home applications and office networks.