872 JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 33, NO.

4, FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Optical Cables for Consumer Applications

Mathieu Charbonneau-Lefort and Michael J. Yadlowsky

Abstract—As communication data rates increase, the maximum

propagation distance in copper cables decreases. This trend is driv-
ing the use of fiber-optic links at shorter and shorter distances.
Now, well established in the telecom and datacom market seg-
ments, optical fiber is poised to find applications in the consumer
market segment. Consumer protocols such as USB and Thunder-
bolt are achieving data rates of 10 Gb/s and higher, and as a result,
the reach of traditional copper interconnects becomes limited to
a few meters. Optics can remove the distance limitation and en-
able longer-reach applications. However, to be successful in the
consumer market, optical cables need to be robust—both optically
and mechanically—and low cost. In this paper, we describe how the
various elements of the optical link, including the fiber, the cable,
Fig. 1. Penetration of optical fiber at increasingly short distances.
and the coupling optics, can be engineered to work together on a
system level in order to meet those requirements.

Index Terms—Active optical cable, consumer electronics, data

communication, lens module, multi-mode optical fiber, optical as-
sembly, optical coupling, optical fiber applications, optical fiber
communication, optical interconnections, personal communication
networks.

I. OPTICS IN CONSUMER APPLICATIONS

HE data rates of communication protocols have increased
T steadily over the last several decades. This drove the adop-
tion of optical fiber into increasingly short distances. Optical
fiber started displacing copper cables in telecommunications
as early as the 1970s with national and metropolitan networks
covering hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The conversion
to optics then took place in access, campus-wide and enterprise
networks, with scales ranging from hundreds of meters to tens of
kilometers. While the penetration of optical fiber in these mid-
reach applications continues, new short-reach applications are
emerging. They take the form of networks in vehicles like air-
planes and automobiles, of high-speed data links inside devices
like televisions, and of cables to interconnect consumer elec-
tronic devices like laptops, displays and hard drives. Distances
range from less than a meter to tens of meters.
The reach of the different applications of optical fiber il-
lustrated in Fig. 1 varies widely, and so does the number of
users sharing the networks. Telecom networks carry traffic from
millions of users; campus-wide networks may be shared by
thousands. In contrast, short-reach applications, especially those
related to the consumer space, can involve as few as a single
Manuscript received August 7, 2014; revised October 13, 2014; accepted
December 19, 2014. Date of publication January 12, 2015; date of current
version February 20, 2015.
The authors are with the Corning West Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA
94304 USA (e-mail: CharbonnM@corning.com; YadlowskMJ@corning.com).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JLT.2015.2390223
0733-8724 © 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
Fig. 2. Data rates per lane of a few consumer protocols over the years.
user. One consequence is that the cost of short-reach links is
borne by very few users, making them very cost-sensitive.
Cost is only one way in which consumer optics is different
from telecom and datacom optics. In this paper, we examine the
requirements and trade-offs involved in designing optics for the
consumer space.
The consumer market represents a new and growing opportu-
nity for optics because of the need to transmit large quantities of
data to support applications such as video retrieval and display.
This need is represented by the rapidly increasing data rate of
consumer protocols like USB, HDMI and Thunderbolt. Tradi-
tionally, these data rates have been low enough so that passive
copper cables could easily transmit over the relatively short dis-
tances required by consumer applications. However, data rates
have increased steadily over the years, as shown in Fig. 2. For
example, USB 2.0, released in the year 2000, had a maximum
data rate per lane of 480 Mb/s; USB 3.0, announced in 2008,
operates at 5 Gb/s; and USB 3.1, released in 2013, increases the
data rate to 10 Gb/s [1]. HDMI, DisplayPort and PCI Express,
are all following similar trends. Thunderbolt was introduced in
2011 with a data rate of 10 Gb/s per lane, and there are indica-
tions it will double to 20 Gb/s around 2015. Video applications
are the main driver behind this sustained increase in data rate.
CHARBONNEAU-LEFORT AND YADLOWSKY: OPTICAL CABLES FOR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS
At data rates of 10 Gb/s or more per lane, it becomes difficult
to transmit over a few meters using passive copper cables. This
is due to the frequency-dependent loss of copper wires, caused
mainly by skin loss in the conductors. As a result, most stan-
dards are defined over limited distances. For example, the USB
3.0 standard supports a reach of 3 m [2], although cables lengths
of up to 5 m have been commercialized. Active electrical cables,
which contain equalization electronics in the cable connectors,
can increase the reach of a copper cable. The Thunderbolt pro-
tocol, for instance, requires most cables to include retimers in
both ends, and they typically also make use of equalization to
overcome frequency-dependent loss. Nevertheless, the length of
Thunderbolt active electrical cables is limited to 3 m.
Optics provides a solution to the limited reach of electrical
cables. Several applications require both a high data rate and a
relatively long reach of tens of meters. Examples include video
creation, video editing, disk remoting and digital signage. Active
optical cables are needed to address the high-speed, long-reach
portion of the consumer market. This is a new market segment,
one that has historically not been compatible with optics for
reasons of cost and robustness.
II. REQUIREMENTS OF CONSUMER OPTICS
The optics of consumer interconnects differs from that of
telecom or datacom in several ways. They are driven by different
requirements, the most important being robustness and low cost.
Robustness is crucial because users expect optical cables to
be as flexible and break-resistant as the electrical cables they
are familiar with. Whereas telecom and datacom installations
are clean and well-protected, individual consumers may stuff
cables in bags unprotected, step on them, and roll chairs over
them.
Low cost is also critical because the consumer market is
much more cost-sensitive since the links support fewer users.
Consumer purchases may also be influenced by weight and
aesthetic considerations.
The data transmission performance of optical links remains
important, but the requirements are generally lower than those
of shared network applications. The reach of consumer appli-
cations is only from meters to tens of meters, compared to tens
to hundreds of meters for datacom and kilometers for telecom.
Data rates are up to tens of gigabit per second in the consumer
space, compared to hundreds of gigabit per second for telecom
networks.
Finally, lifespan is also very different. Consumer products are
usually expected to last from three to six years, while the life of
telecom equipment is often specified at more than 20 years.
In this paper, we limit our attention to the two main require-
ments, robustness and low cost.
Robustness is both mechanical—optical fibers must not break
under bending—and optical—bending losses must remain low.
There are a few general guidelines for a low-cost design. One
of them is to exploit the trade-offs between performance and
cost. While telecom optics is optimized for performance, con-
sumer optics must be optimized for lowest cost. For example,
it might be possible to tolerate a lower optical throughput if
873
that contributes to savings elsewhere, especially in closed op-
tical systems like active optical cables. Another guideline is
to design for relaxed alignment tolerances. As is the case for
most photonic devices, assembly costs are a large fraction of
the total cost; relaxing the alignment tolerances enables the use
of lower-cost equipment, speeds up the assembly process and
contributes to higher yield. Finally, recently developed low-cost
manufacturing techniques like precision molding and pick-and-
place technology allow good optical performance to be achieved
at modest costs.
To achieve the dual objectives of robustness and low cost,
the entire link must be optimized at the system level. The fiber,
cable, coupling optics and even the electronics all play a role. In
the next few sections, we discuss design considerations related
to each component of the link [3].
III. AN OPTICAL FIBER FOR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS
An optical fiber engineered to optimize robustness and low-
cost is the result of many trade-offs. Details of the design process
are given in reference [4]; here we only give a brief overview of
the trade-offs.
It is desirable to increase light capture and to relax alignment
tolerances of the optical system. This is achieved by increasing
the core diameter and increasing the numerical aperture of the
fiber (which is related to the index contrast between core and
cladding). At the same time, low bend loss is again achieved
by increasing the core and the numerical aperture, and by en-
gineering the index profile of the fiber. A low-index “trench”
around the core, described below, can lower bend loss signif-
icantly. However, increasing the numerical aperture increases
modal dispersion, which limits the reach at a given data rate. In
contrast with longer-distance telecommunications applications,
fiber loss seldom matters for short-distance links; modal disper-
sion often sets the maximum link distance. Therefore there is
a trade-off between misalignment tolerances and bend loss, on
the one hand, and reach, on the other hand.
Mechanical robustness of the fiber requires resistance to frac-
ture growth. This can be promoted by reducing the cladding
diameter which reduces bend-induced stress. However, reduc-
ing the cladding diameter also limits the core diameter. Conse-
quently there is a trade-off between the desired optical properties
(relaxed alignment tolerances and low bend loss) and mechani-
cal bend resistance.
Corning’s ClearCurve VSDN fiber is the result of balancing
these trade-offs to achieve maximum alignment tolerance when
coupling the fiber to typical vertical-cavity surface-emitting
lasers (VCSELs) and photodiodes operating at 10 Gb/s and
to withstand bending radii at least four times smaller than stan-
dard multimode fiber (MMF). Fig. 3 compares the attributes
of VSDN fiber to those of standard MMF. It has an 80-μm-
diameter core and a 100-μm-diameter cladding, compared with
50 and 125 μm, respectively, for standard MMF. It has a numer-
ical aperture of 0.29, corresponding to an acceptance angle at
the center of the fiber of 16.9°. In contrast, standard MMF has
a numerical aperture of 0.20, corresponding to an acceptance
angle of 11.5°. It can achieve a bend diameter of 3 mm with
874 JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 33, NO. 4, FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Fig. 3. Comparison between Corning’s ClearCurve VSDN fiber and standard

50-μm MMF.

Fig. 4. Eye diagrams of 10 Gb/s optical signal after propagation through 3 m

(left) and 100 m (right).
Fig. 5. Index profile (top) engineered for low bend loss (bottom) [4].

minimal optical loss (between 1 and 2 dB, depending largely

on the launch conditions) and without breaking. In comparison,
the recommended minimum bend diameter for 50-μm MMF is
typically 15 mm or larger.
All these fiber design elements contribute to relaxed misalign-
ment tolerances and bend robustness. The trade-off, unsurpris-
ingly, is a shorter reach due to increased dispersion. Neverthe-
less, we demonstrated error-free transmission of 10 Gb/s data
over 100 m, which is sufficient for consumer applications. Fig. 4
compares optical eye diagrams of 10 Gb/s data after propagation
through 3 and 100 m of VSDN fiber, showing that it is possible
to achieve minimal dispersion-induced signal degradation. This
suggests a bandwidth-length product in excess of 700 MHz·km.
The fiber was made with the same process used in Ref. [4],
which reports performance ranging from 300 to 1000 MHz·km.
By comparison, OM3 MMF transmits at 10 Gb/s over distances
of at least 300 m as required by data center applications.
VSDN fiber achieves low bend loss thanks to its unusual
index profile. Fig. 5 shows different fiber profiles and their
corresponding loss as a function of bend diameter, as reported
Fig. 6. VSDN cable: A slotted design (cross-section—top left) which lets the
in [4]. Adding a low-index “trench” around the core of standard fibers move freely allows the cable to be tied into knots (right) and even pinched
50-μm MMF decreases the bend loss significantly. Increasing (bottom left).
both the core diameter and the index contrast to the values used
in VSDN fiber lowers bend loss down to 1 dB at a bend diameter
of 3 mm. remain thin and flexible but provides enough protection to the
fiber that it can be pinched and tied in knots. The slot allows
the fibers to move freely in order to minimize their degree of
IV. A THIN, FLEXIBLE YET ROBUST CABLE bending. As a result, the cable can be bent back on itself at 180°
The cable provides another opportunity to improve the ro- while keeping the fiber radius of curvature greater than 3 mm,
bustness of the complete assembly. The cable cross-section of which prevents the fiber from breaking and preserves low bend
Fig. 6 shows a slotted interior design that enables the cable to loss.
CHARBONNEAU-LEFORT AND YADLOWSKY: OPTICAL CABLES FOR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS
Fig. 7. Direct coupling.
Fig. 8. Measured misalignment tolerances with VSDN fiber using direct
coupling.
VSDN fiber and cable therefore work together to make a ro-
bust cable that can withstand abuse in the hands of the consumer.
With an outside diameter of 3 mm, it is a thin, lightweight cable
well suited for consumer connectivity applications.
V. COUPLING OPTICS
A. Direct Coupling
We consider two approaches for coupling light from a low-
cost VCSEL into the fiber and coupling the transmitted light
from the fiber onto a photodiode. The first is direct coupling,
where the fibers are held in close proximity to the VCSELs and
photodiodes, without the use of any optical focusing elements,
as illustrated in Fig. 7.
Direct coupling can provide large misalignment tolerances,
especially if some amount of optical loss may be tolerated.
Fig. 8 shows the fraction of light coupled into the fiber as a
function of the misalignment between a VCSEL and VSDN
fiber core center. The longitudinal distance between them was
approximately 150 μm. The full-width at half-maximum of the
coupling curve is around ±40 μm—essentially the radius of
the VSDN fiber. While direct coupling is forgiving to large
misalignments, the technique works best at relatively low data
rates (say, at most 10 Gb/s), where photodiodes have a large
area and can consequently capture a large fraction of the light
coming out of the fiber.
Direct coupling typically requires mounting the VCSEL and
photodiodes in a plane perpendicular to that of the printed circuit
board (PCB). This often imposes a certain distance between
the photodiode and the trans-impedance amplifier, increasing
875
Fig. 9. Optical engine in the connector of a USB 3.0 active optical cable.
the amount of noise and distortion impairments on the signal.
A solution is to mount the trans-impedance amplifier on the
same vertical substrate as the photodiodes, but this is not always
possible due to space constraints. Consequently, signal integrity
considerations often limit the direct coupling geometry to lower
data rates.
In spite of its limitations, the direct coupling technique can
be low cost for applications that require only a single fiber
pair. It requires no optical-quality surfaces or precision features.
Additionally, it can be assembled using automated vision-based
equipment, although the total time for the assembly process
increases with the number of fibers.
Fig. 9 illustrates an implementation of direct coupling in a
commercial product. It shows the connector of a USB 3.0 ac-
tive optical cable, including the electronics and the optics. To
minimize degradation of the 5 Gb/s signal, the vertical substrate
supporting the VCSEL, photodiode and molded plastic fiber
alignment ferrules are mounted immediately next to an inte-
grated circuit containing the protocol and analog electronics.
B. Lens Module
To achieve better nominal coupling efficiency, especially with
photodiodes with small active areas to support high-data-rate,
focusing optics are needed. A low-cost option is a precision-
molded lens. While it does inherently add cost, using the same
element to couple light to multiple fibers and to provide opto-
mechanical fiber support makes it more cost effective. A design
example is given in Fig. 10. It includes lenses to focus the
beams, a total-internal-reflection mirror to steer the beam par-
allel to the PCB, and alignment V-grooves to hold the fibers. It
can be aligned and fixed in place on the PCB using automated
pick-and-place equipment. In this particular example, a “tray”
is used to hold the fibers, which can be attached to the fibers
in advance. Later in the assembly process, the fiber tray is in-
serted into the lens module, which may be attached to a circuit
assembly. Advantages of a lens module include the fact that
they allow VCSELs and photodiodes to be located very close
to the transceiver for better signal integrity, and that they align
multiple fibers at once.
Fig. 11 shows an optical engine designed for a Thunderbolt
active optical cable. It supports two bi-directional 10 Gb/s data
lanes, for a total of four fibers. The lens module, located near
the cable side of the module, contains a cavity which encloses
876 JOURNAL OF LIGHTWAVE TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 33, NO. 4, FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Fig. 10. Lens module (left) and fiber “tray” (right).

Fig. 12. Measured misalignment tolerances with VSDN fiber using direct
coupling: VCSEL side (top) and photodiode side (bottom).

Fig. 11. Optical engine of a Thunderbolt active optical cable.

the two VCSELs, two photodiodes and transceiver IC which are

die-bonded onto the PCB.
Optical design plays an important role in helping lower the
cost of the assembly process. Indeed, the lens module can be
designed to maximize the alignment tolerances. Fig. 12 shows an
example of calculated input and output coupling fraction into
VSDN fiber as a function of lateral misalignment. A 70-μm-
diameter photodiode was used, and reflection losses amounting
to approximately 6% on each side were neglected. This case
shows that large misalignment tolerances in excess of ±25 μm Fig. 13. Monte-Carlo simulation of a link using VSDN fiber and lens modules
are achievable, largely thanks to the large core and numerical at both ends. The plot gives the probability that the loss exceeds a given level
aperture of VSDN fiber. for different VCSEL, photodiode and fiber misalignment scenarios.
The plots shown in Fig. 12 illustrate the effect of misalign-
ment of a single parameter. However, models of complete opti-
cal systems must account for the misalignment of all elements accuracies were considered. The outcome of Monte-Carlo sim-
simultaneously. This can be modeled using Monte-Carlo simu- ulations is a set of specifications for the alignment accuracies
lations. Assumptions about the statistical variation of every pa- that need to be maintained in manufacturing.
rameter are made, and link throughput simulations are repeated
for a large number of statistical realizations. Fig. 13 shows an
VI. CONCLUSION
example for a full link consisting of VSDN fiber with two lens
modules (such as the one shown in Fig. 10) at each end. The We are witnessing the beginning of an exciting new era for
quantity plotted is the probability that the loss exceeds a given optical fiber. Traditionally limited to telecom and datacom ap-
value. Various scenarios can be explored with this technique. In plications, optical fiber is poised to find uses in consumer elec-
this example, different VCSEL, photodiode and fiber placement tronics and other short-reach applications.
CHARBONNEAU-LEFORT AND YADLOWSKY: OPTICAL CABLES FOR CONSUMER APPLICATIONS
A number of challenges need to be addressed in order to
encourage the adoption of fiber by individual consumers. The
main requirements to succeed in this new space are robustness
and low cost. The entire link, including fiber, cable and coupling
optics, must be engineered towards these two goals.
The consumer market segment is nascent but it is expected
to grow. The need for higher data rates will force optics to be
placed closer to the source of the data. The adoption of “ultra
high definition” television will create the need for optical cables
of various lengths and might even drive the use of optical fiber
inside displays and computers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank for contributions from
G. Trott, J. Renfro, R. Schaevitz, R. Walker, J. Ertel, D. Fortusini
and R. Trutna.
877
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Authors’ biographies not available at the time of publication.