Recent developments in technology have made electronic devices more compact. Consequently, the market for faster, smaller components is hot. In fact, the IEEE 1394 trade committee has adopted a new standard for connector and transceiver interconnect systems. The Molex SMI is a complete duplex plastic optical fiber (POF) data link solution that offers flexible mounting and reduced housing space, which frees valuable PCB real estate. The optical data links have low power consumption and are compatible with IEEE 802.3u fast Ethernet data communications standards.

Using Firecomms’ RCLED-based 650 nm FOT TX/RX transceivers, the links offer high-speed long distance links with data speeds to 250 Mbps for 50 meters. Firecomms’ fiber optic transceivers (FOTs) have digitally integrated driver circuitry and are compatible with CML signaling for seamless integration into Ethernet hubs.