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Plastic Optical Fiber Standards

Standards in the Fiber Optic Industry

Standards are established requirements or specifications put forth by a governing body or group. In the plastic optical fiber industry, standards are enstated to address issues such as quality, size, and measurement methods on an international level. These standards were introduced in the early 1990s, when they were first put forth in the Japanese Industrial Standard for measuring methods.

Groups Involved

The following is a list of groups involved in the creation and revision of POF standards.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI): Coordinates national standards activities within the United States of America and represents the USA in international standards bodies.

Duetsches Institut fur Normung (DIN): German Standards Institute, responsible for electronics standards, and consequently, fiber optic communication standards.

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC): This body is responsible for the international standardization of POF technolgoies as a subset of their overall responsibility for electronics standards.

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE): Responsible for the development of POF local area network (LAN) standards.

Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA): Organization supporting network technologies built on CIP: DeviceNet™, EtherNet/IP™, CompoNet™, and ControlNet™

Telecommunications/Electronics Industry Association (TIA / EIA): U.S. organization responsible for standardization of POF technologies as a subset of their overall responsiblity for electronics standards.

Verband Deutscher Elecktrotechniker (VDE): Association of German Electrical Engineers, responsible for electronics standards, and consequently, fiber optic communication standards.

Fiber Standards

  • IEC 60189-1: Low frequency cables and wires with PVC Insulation and PVC sheath: Part 1 General test and measurement methods
  • IEC 60793-1-20: Optical fibers Part 1-20: Measurement methods and test procedures – Fiber Geometry
  • IEC 60793-1-21: Optical fibers Part 1-21: Measurement methods and test procedures – Coating Geometry
  • IEC 60793-2-40: Optical fibers Part 2-40: Product specifications – Sectional specification for category A4 multimode fibers
  • IEC 60794-1-1: Optical fiber cable – Part 1-1: Generic specifications – General
  • IEC 60794-1-2: Optical fiber cable – Part 1-2: Generic specifications – Basic optical cable test procedures
  • IEC 60794-2: Optical fiber cable – Part 2: Indoor cables – Sectional specifications
  • IEC 60811-1-4: Common test methods for insulating and sheathing material of electrical cables. Part 1: Methods for general application. Section 4: Test at low temperatures.
  • ISO/IEC 11801: Information technology – Generic cabling for customer premises
  • IEC 60958-3: Digital audio interface – Part 3; Consumer electronics
  • IEC 62300: Consumer audio /video equipment interface with polymer optical fiber

Fiber Cable Standards

  • IEC 60793-2-40: POF Fiber Families, attenuation per unit length, and bandwidth

Connector Standards

SMA Connectors

  • TIA/EIA-475C000: Sectional Specification for Type FSMA Connectors
  • TIA/EIA-475CA00, B00, C00: Sectional Specifications for environmental categories (I, II & II)
  • IEC-QC210100: Sectional Specification. Fibre Optic Connector Type F-SMA
  • IEC-60874-2: Part 2 of IEC-QC210100

ST Connectors

  • TIA/EIA-475EA, TIA/EIA-475EB, TIA/EIA-475EC: Blank Detail Specification for Connector Set for Optical Fiber and Cables, Type BFOC, Environmental Category I, II & III
  • TIA/EIA-604-2: Fiber Optic Connector Intermateability Standard (FOCIS-2)
  • IEC 874-10: Sectional Specification. Fibre Optic Connector Type BFOC

TOSLink Connectors

  • JIS C 5974 (FO5): Japanese Industrial Standard for FO5: “FO5 Type Connectors for Optical Fiber Cords”
  • EIAJ RC-5720: US version (TIA/EIA) of JIS C 5974
  • JIS C 5976 (FO7): Japanese Industrial Standard for FO7: “FO7 Type Connectors for Optical Fiber Cords”

Networking Standards

  • Industrial Ethernet: Led by Siemens, Rockwell, and Pheonix, and expanding rapidly with 100+ vendors. Incorporates elements of Ethernet IP and Field Bus standards. Has stricter working temperature, vibration tolerance, cleanliness, and safety requirements than office Ethernet.
  • ProfiBus/PofiNet: Led by Siemens, with 300+ vendors. Standard that uses Ethernet IP (10/100) over ProfiBus copper twisted pair and POF, PCS, and GOF.
  • ControlNet™, ControlNet International, and DeviceNet™: Led by Rockwell Automation, with 300+ vendors. Uses Common Industrial Protocol (CIP™) over copper, POF, PCS, and GOF.
  • Serial Real-time Communications System (SERCOS): International standard for high-speed motion control networking that calls for fiber optics to be used for data links between motor drives and controllers.

Automotive Standards

  • MOST: MOST specification of Physical Layer rev. 1.1 09/2003 – specifies 5 hybrid POF/copper connector styles.

Consumer Electronic Standards

  • Small Multimedia Interface (SMI): Smallest latching POF connector system, designed for IEEE 1394b, refer to IEC 61754-21.