A new generation of fiber optic cable and high-speed connectivity products are laying a solid foundation for the full implementation of 5G networks.

 

 

 

Vendors of fiber optic cables, high-speed connectors and cable management systems are preparing for the full deployment of 5G network infrastructure. The advent of 5G networks has had a major impact on these critical components, especially the connectors and cables used in wireless and wired infrastructure. Recently, the United States and the United Kingdom announced the acceleration of 5G network development, which has injected vitality into the entire network industry. Today, Western economies are trying to compete with China's concentrated 5G technology.

 

 

 

 

 

The call for the full promotion of 5G at this year's Optical Fiber Communications Exhibition (OFC) is getting louder and louder. "The arrival of 5G networks will change everything, including autonomous driving, real-time vehicle-to-vehicle (V2v) communications, and even remote assisted surgery," said Gilles Garcia, director of communications at Xilinx. He is a leader in the development of FPGAs and fast network technologies. He also pointed out that "moving from 10G to 400G will be a challenge." Members of the Ethernet Alliance, including Amphenol, Cisco, Xilinx and Juniper, are united in OFC 2019. Demonstrating the application of the 400 G link, OFC was held in San Diego, California from March 3rd to 7th, 2019.

 

 

 

However, achieving this leap on a large scale will depend on the adoption of new cable technologies. Around the world, copper-based mobile backhaul architectures are being upgraded to packet transport architectures over fiber. Fiber optic cables can transmit higher bandwidth and are therefore essential for future 5G network product processing speeds. Small base stations that match 5G networks, new equipment and products must be able to handle higher speeds and densities while reducing latency, consuming less energy, and generating less heat. To support these new market demands, a new range of connected products will make this transition easier.

Novel and advanced cable deployment and management

In recent years, great progress has been made in the deployment and management of cables. Many new applications save time for installation and troubleshooting. For example, Amphenol's traceable patch cable assembly system allows installers to track fiber optic cables by implanting light sources.

 

 

 

 

Amphenol's Traceable Repair Line Light Source Solution

Trackable patch lines make it easier to track the far end of fiber patch lines and are useful in IT/Datacom high-speed links and data centers where many server or network settings are interconnected by dense cables. Red LEDs are mounted on both ends of the cable jumper, especially when there are many cross-connections. These TIA/EIA and IEC standard components are capable of supporting 400 Gb/s, supporting both single mode bend insensitive fibers (≤0.15dB) and multimode OM3 and OM4 fibers (≤0.50dB) with a working range from -40° C to 85 ° C, operating range <0.3dB. With a UPC connector, the return loss is ≤-55dB at 500 duty cycles (<0.2dB). Molex offers a similar solution where the fiber optic link will help the installer find and identify the fiber optic cable by flashing green light.

Small high speed cable

In order to squeeze more cables into smaller and smaller spaces, cable manufacturers are working to reduce the size and diameter of cable bundles. For example, Corning is shrinking the size of 400 Gb/s cables. The Corning SMF-28 Ultra High 200 Fiber Cable features a coating thickness of only 200 microns, which is lower than the previous product's 245 microns while maintaining a 125 micron diameter glass cladding in a single mode fiber.

Corning SMF-28 ultra-small cable

These cables are also compliant with ITU-T G.652.D and ITU-TG.657.A1. Although these standards require a 10 micron radius bend, Corning Cable allows bending of a 33 micron radius, providing a significant 30% improvement.

 

 

 

 

As high-speed network infrastructure continues to evolve, processing speeds are growing, and form the basis of 5G networks, fiber-optic solutions like this will replace copper cables in transatlantic subsea transmission pipelines. Corning's TXF fiber optic cable is made from a low loss, silicon core fiber material that has a large effective area and is capable of transmitting high speed data over long periods of time. Since the two 200-kilometer submarine backhaul links can support 400 Tb/s, these ITU-TG.654 compliant fiber optic solutions are likely to be the large-scale cable solutions required for the massive introduction of 5G network technology worldwide.

Similarly, the Italian-based Prysmian Group recently added a new line of 6,912 cables to its FlexRibbon series with a maximum length of 9,843 feet (1.86 miles or 3 kilometers). The two-inch pipe contains 6,912 bend-insensitive fiber optics. The fiber optic cable consists of 24 bundles, each consisting of 288 fibers for easy management. In addition, the outer diameter (OD) of the cable is only 1.54 inches, and the remainder of the 2-inch pipe can support future expansion needs.

More powerful interconnection

5G network transmission requires better connectors for data centers, small base stations or other applications. Samtec's NovaRay connector provides 112 Gb/s per channel in PAM 4 mode. In order to achieve a total data rate of 4.0 Tb/s, the differential pair must be completely shielded to minimize crosstalk (to 40 GHz). By using BGAs instead of traditional chips to increase density, these cable assemblies can have 8 to 32 pairs of signals, and the next generation will include 72 pairs. This design also reduces board space by 40% compared to previous versions. At the recent trade show, Samtec also demonstrated a 56 Gb/s (PAM 4) cable assembly with a diameter of 7.6 mm. To reach 400 G, developers typically combine 4x100Gb/s or 8x50Gb/s. The 34 AWG low-slope (<3.5ps/m) cable in the Samtec solution increases bandwidth (28-112 GB/s), is configured for 8 pairs and 16 pairs, and is planned to include 24 pairs for the next generation.

Samtec's NovaRay connection solution

Samtec's ExaMAX high-speed backplane system supports 56 Gb/s, 2.00 mm pitch, PCI Express, Intel OPI and UPI, SAS, SATA, Fibre Channel, Infiniband and Ethernet protocols, and is compliant with OIF CEI-28G-LR (28 GB/s) standard. Each signal contact is rated for 0.5A and rated for operation from -55°C to 85°C.

Samtec's 2mm Column Spacing ExaMAX Connector

A new generation of cable and connector suppliers are actively preparing for the arrival of 5G networks. New connector and cable products are expected to be launched on a large scale in 2020.