Corning’s LEAF optical fiber now available with lower-loss specification

Corning has further optimized its LEAF optical fiber for long-haul networks through the application of the company’s low-loss technology.

Corning low-loss technology reduces LEAF fiber’s attenuation specification to 0.19dB/km at 1550nm. The enhancement is a 3dB improvement at 1550nm for a typical 100 kilometer span over other available NZ-DSF products. This attenuation improvement will enable LEAF fiber to achieve longer transmission distances and facilitate an upgrade path to higher data rates of 40Gb/s and 100 Gb/s.

LEAF is considered not only the first large-effective-area, non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF), but also the lowest-loss NZ-DSF fiber on the market and the most widely deployed ITU G.655-compliant NZ-DSF fiber in the world, according to a company representative.

LEAF fiber’s large effective area allows higher levels of optical power to be transmitted, while minimizing nonlinear impairments that can degrade transmission-system performance. The fiber has low chromatic dispersion, which simplifies dispersion compensation and lowers the cost of network installation and operation for long-haul carriers. In addition, this fiber has low polarization mode dispersion (PMD), which enables high-data-rate transmission.

Corning Incorporated is featuring its full portfolio of optical fibers at OFC/NFOEC 2011, through March 10 in Los Angeles, Calif.