Optical Communication and Sensing Modules for Plastic Optical Fibers

POF(Polymer optical fiber) offers advantages of lighter, inexpensive, and easier to use over GOF(glass optical fiber). Its higher transmission loss and low bandwidth, however, make it suitable only for short distance networking such as LAN. The polymer materials and its synthesis technology of low transmission loss and the broader application for flexible POF are the two of many critical areas to be investigated more. In the current study, low-noise POF modules are developed and optimized with a low noise amplifier and low cost LED of 650 nm. In order to demonstrate the dynamic characteristics of the POF module for optical communication and sensing, we have built an image transfer module, optical transmission speed measurement module, optical transceiver for RS-232, and sound-transfer module, and the signal characteristics of them are evaluated. It is found that the module can be readily used for a quick and simple measurement of optical transfer speed. With help of analog amplifier, LED, and PD, sound and image transfers through a maximum 60 m optical waveguide have been confirmed. Real-time data transfer was also demonstrated in PID control, which is thought to be valuable to industrial plant design and control.