Plastic Fiber

Plastic fiber is an inexpensive type of fiber and generally lower quality than glass optical fiber. Attenuation is generally higher with plastic fiber. The primary use of plastic fiber is in the automotive and medical industries. Plastic fiber attenuation over short distances is not a major problem and therefore is becoming popular in more popular especially where there are budget concerns. Plastic fiber is extremely durable and is able to be bent much more than glass fiber, however it is flammable, so care must be taken in deciding whether plastic fiber is correct for particular applications.

plastic optical fiber

Abbreviated as POF, plastic optical fiber is a type of optical fiber that uses polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as the core material that allows the transmission of light. POF is often called consumer optical fiber as it is a low-cost optical fiber alternative that is easier to use than glass optical fiber. It sustains a data transfer speed of 2.5GB/s, which isn't as fast as glass optical fiber, but is much faster than traditional copper wire. In comparison to traditional optical fiber, PoF is much larger in diameter which results in lower data rates making it most suitable for high bandwidth signal transmission over short distances. Unlike glass, plastic fiber can easily be cut and bent to fit in hard-to-reach places and the larger core also allows for slightly damaged fiber to work. POF products are most commonly used in medical, automotive, home networks, as well as digital audio and video interfaces.