Fiber Optic Transceiver

With the economic development, the communication technologies more and more optical fibers have entered our lives.

Let’s talk about SFP Transceiver----Data can usually travel only one way in a fiber optic cable, so most transceivers have two ports for bidirectional communication: one for sending and the other for receiving signals. Alternatively, a single cable can be used, but it can only send or receive data at a time but not both. The opposite end of the transceiver has a special connector for fitting it into specific models of enterprise-grade Ethernet switches, firewalls, routers and network interface cards. A modern fiber optic transceiver is a small device because it is intended to plug into the aforementioned network devices; this type of transceiver is called a small form-factor pluggable transceiver.

SFP modules allows for an optical or electrical interface when using a managed switch, unmanaged switch or media converter. These interchangeable SFP modules are available for use with copper media, multimode optical fiber, or single mode optical fiber. The optical fiber SFP modules are available in Fast Ethernet one and two fiber versions and Gigabit Ethernet one and two fiber versions.

Transceivers include transmission and receiver in a single module. The transmitter takes an electrical input and converts it to an optical output from a laser diode or LED. The light from the transmitter is coupled into the fiber with a connector and is transmitted through the fiber optic cable plant. The light from the end of the fiber is coupled to a receiver where a detector converts the light into an electrical signal which is then conditioned properly for use by the receiving equipment. And this is conversion from electricity to light, light to electricity.

They also are available with LC or SC optical connectors.A fiber optic transceiver is a device that uses fiber optical technology to send and receive data. The transceiver has electronic components to condition and encode/decode data into light pulses and then send them to the other end as electrical signals. To send data as light, it makes use of a light source, which is controlled by the electronic parts, and to receive light pulses, it makes use of a photodiode semiconductor.

As with most devices, there are many kinds and models of transceivers available, which range in size, performance and price.

Transmitting Rates and Range—Both the single-mode and multimode fiber optic transceiver can handle the 10G speeds. However, distance requirements are quite critical. The multimode optical transceivers generally have a reach of approximately 550 meters, while the single-mode transceivers can get you through 10 km, 40 km, 80 km and even farther.

Price—The optics used in the single-mode fiber are twice those used in the multimode fiber. But when installed as part of a project, the extra cost of single-mode fiber is negligible compared to multimode fiber. The fragility and increased cost to produce single-mode fiber makes it more expensive to use.

Compatibility—When it comes to issues dealing with compatibility, the two types of transceivers are not compatible. You cannot mix the multimode and the single-mode fiber between any two endpoints.

Power Dissipation—Multimode transceivers consume less power than single-mode transceivers, which is an important consideration especially when assessing the cost of powering and cooling a data center.

Fiber-MART is a leading communication systems technologies integrator and optical solutions provider. We are dedicated to helping you build, connect, protect and optimize your optical infrastructure.