SMI POF Cable Assemblies from Electronic Links Int'l
Posted October 31, 2006

New York -  October 2006 - Electronic Links International, Inc.   is introducing a family of plug assemblies called Small Multimedia Interface (SMI). These are in compliance with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and can meet the IEEE 1394b specification. These assemblies are intended to mate with a printed circuit board socket connector, also produced by ELII.   The system is intended to be used in HOME NETWORKING applications and is based on using plastic optical duplex cable.

Read Full Release from Electronic Links International (PDF)

New 1394 IDB Socket in SMT from Electronic Links Int'l
Posted October 31, 2006

New York - October 2006 - Electronic Links International, Inc. is introducing a new 1394 optical socket in SMT.   The key benefit of the socket is that the amount of board usage is reduced by 6 mm . The socket still uses the light POF sources from Firecomms. In addition to complying with the new printed circuit board foot print as identified by the 2004024 document. The socket is intended to mate with an optical plug cable assembly, also available from E.L.I.I.

Read Full Release from Electronic Links International (PDF)

The 22nd Meeting of the Information Technology Society
Sub-Committee to Focus on "POF in Telecommunications"
Posted October 17, 2006

Download Flyer & Program

The 16th Int'l Conference on Plastic Optical Fibers
(POF 2007) Invitation Available for Download
Posted October 13, 2006

The members of the ICPOF and the organizing committee extend a warm welcome to everyone to join us at the International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibers 2007 to be held in Turin, Italy. The International Conference on Plastic Optical Fibers 2007 is the major opportunity to keep up-to-date on the latest research results and technological developments on all the aspects that involve POF.

Download Invitation Brochure (PDF) | Download Sponsorship & exhibitor Material (PDF)

SMI POF SOCKET IN SMT
Posted October 4, 2006

Electronic Links International, Inc. today announces a new SMI (Small Media Interface) with surface mount leads. This configuration is in addition to the thru hole configuration already introduced. The connector is intended to be used in   communication links over plastic optical fiber (POF) for high-speed home, office, and industrial networks and other applications.

Compliant with the International Electrotechnical Commission standard (IEC 61754-21), the company's new connector system uses RCLED-based light sources from Firecomms, Ltd. that operate at 100 Mbps (125 Mb) for 100 meters, and 200 Mbps for a distance of 50 meters.   With a maximum insertion loss of 3.0 db with 500 cycles of durability, this new connector system uses plastic optical duplex cable assemblies of up to 100 meters that also are provided by Electronic Links.

Read Full Release from Electronic Links International (PDF)

Firecomms MDK Expedite Development of Converters and Repeaters for Fast Ethernet and 1394b over POF
Posted September 27, 2006

Firecomms Ltd., a leading compoundsemiconductor company that develops high-speed light sources in visible range wavelengths, today announced the availability of two media development kits (MDK) that will enable the rapid deployment of copper-to-POF (plastic optical fiber) converters and repeaters for 1394b and Fast Ethernet. Each kit is a complete reference design that enables developers to quickly enter the market for copper-to-POF converters and repeaters.

Comprehensive engineering tools, Firecomms’ new Fast Ethernet over POF MDK and 1394b over POF MDK enable developers to set up a working network link (1394b/FireWire/i.LINK or Fast Ethernet) over a length of POF to evaluate the performance of Firecomms’ 1394 and Fast Ethernet FOTs (fiber optic transceiver) as well as the link’s quality of service.

Read Full Release from Firecomms (PDF)

POF Day Symposium @ OFC/NFOEC '07 Announced
Posted September 19, 2006

Plastic optical fiber is a low cost optical transmission media useful for short distance data and sensor applications. Unlike glass optical fibers, plastic optical fibers require simple tools, are user friendly and operate in the visible range making it easier to diagnose if there is a problem. All these points and more will be presented at "POF Day" comparing POF with glass optical fibers (GOF), wireless and copper wires. Up to now, plastic optical fiber have not been a focus of OFC/NFOEC. This represents a major new thrust for OFC/NFOEC!

During POF Day, The Plastic Optical Fiber Trade Organization (POFTO) offers presentations and demonstrations on POF Technology and applications. The objective is to show what POF is and can do, what are the key applications, new technology, and demonstrations on the ease of connectorization and handling. It is intended for those not familiar with POF technology and recent applications. Exhibits of POF products will be on display at the POFTO Pavilion during the exhibit.

A tentative schedule follows:

Firecomms RCLED-Based Fast Ethernet FOT
Drives New Connector System
Posted June 16, 2006

Cork, Ireland - June 16, 2006 - Firecomms Ltd., a leading compound semiconductor company that develops high-speed light sources in visible range wavelengths, today announced that its RCLED-based 650 nm Fast Ethernet FOT (fiber optic transceiver) is the light source used in the new Electronic Links International connector system for IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet communication links over plastic optical fiber (POF). Optimal for high-speed home, office, and industrial networks, Firecomms’ fully

Read Full Release from Firecomms (PDF)

Firecomms Announces Appointment of New COO
Posted June 13, 2006

Cork, Ireland - June 12, 2006 - Firecomms Ltd., a leading compound semiconductor
company that develops high-speed light sources in visible range wavelengths, today
announced the appointment of industry veteran Dr. Torsten Wipiejewski as chief
operations officer. Thomas Moriarty, who was acting COO, will focus his efforts on new
product development in his role as chief engineer.

In his new role, Dr. Wipiejewski will create an effective execution strategy for Firecomms, build out the team, and drive volume mass production of VCSEL chips and fiber optic transceivers. The increase in production capacity and manufacturing capability follows the latest round of funding to meet customer demands.


Read Full Release from Firecomms (PDF)

Firecomms Transceiver Developer Kit for RCLED FOT
Quickens Development of Fast Ethernet Products
Posted June 12, 2006

Cork, Ireland - June 9, 2006 - Firecomms Ltd. announces the release of the Fast Ethernet Transceiver Developer Kit, which enables product developers using the Firecomms RCLED-based 650 nm Fast Ethernet fiber optic transceiver (FOT) to significantly shorten time to market.

“In offering this kit, we are enabling our customers worldwide to expedite development of a wide range of products that are based on Firecomms RCLED devices,” says Michael O’Gorman, Firecomms product manager. “With this all-in-one evaluation system, Firecomms customers can get products to market faster, and at a more competitive price.”

Read Full Release from Firecomms (PDF)

Fast Ethernet Connector System
Enables High-Speed Networks
Posted June 9, 2006

New York, NY - June 9, 2006 - Electronic Links International, Inc. today announces a new SMI (Small Media Interface) connector system that enables an IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet communication link over plastic optical fiber (POF) or high-speed home, office, and industrial networks.

Compliant with the International Electrotechnical Commission standard (IEC 61754-21), the company’s new connector system uses RCLED-based light sources from Firecomms, Ltd. that operate at 100 Mbps (125 Mb) for 100 meters, and 200 Mbps for a distance of 50 meters. With a maximum insertion loss of 3.0 db with 500 cycles of durability, this new connector system uses plastic optical duplex cable assemblies of up to 100 meters that also are provided by Electronic Links.

Read Full Release from Electronic Links International (PDF)

Infineon Announces $12 Optical Ethernet Transceiver
Posted June 8, 2006

Infineon Technologies, a leading provider of communication ICs, has announced a revolutionary plastic optical fiber (POF) Ethernet transceiver solution that enables mass deployment of Video Home Networking driving IPTV and HDTV services. As opposed to other wired and wireless solutions with virtually no bandwidth limitations. Infineon's POF transceiver provides better economics, high reliability due to dedicated high bandwidth for each connection and can be easily installed without any need for special equipment.

This revolutionary transceiverwill be discussed in depth on Thursday, June 22, 2006 at POF World 2006 in a presentation by Martin Weigert of Infineon.

Read Full Release from Infineon (PDF)

Firecomms Launches Fast Ethernet POF Transceiver
Posted May 4, 2006

Firecomms has announced the release of a fully integrated transceiver RCLED-based 650 nm FOT (fiber optic transceiver) and highlysensitive receiver FOT that operates with IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet data communications networks. Based on Firecomms’ proprietary technology for Resonant Cavity LEDs, this new FOT is designed to provide a Fast Ethernet communication link over plastic optic fiber (POF).

Read Full Release

New Firecomms 1394 Plastic Transceiver
Conforms to Wake-on-LAN Specifications
Posted May 4, 2006

Firecomms has announced a fully integrated RCLED-based 650nm FOT (fiber optic transceiver) and highly-sensitive receiver FOT to fully conform to the IEEE 1394 and IDB-1394 Wake-on-LAN specifications.

Read Full Release

Firecomms Announces €9.6 Million Funding Round
Posted May 4, 2006

Firecomms Ltd., a leading compound semiconductor company that develops high-speed light sources in visible range wavelengths, has announced that it has closed a €9.6 million investment deal with new and existing shareholders.

Read Full Release

POF Day Symposium Proceedings Made Available
Posted March 14, 2006

The "POF Day Symposium" , held during the OFC/NFOEC 2006 conference at the Anaheim Convention Center6 produced some noteworthy presentations which are now available from IGI. Purchase Proceeding from IGI

POF@10G Group Formed
Posted March 13, 2006

POF@10G Founding Members: Archcom Technologies, Inc. Asahi Glass Company, Ltd. Chromis Fiberoptics Nexans Phyworks, Ltd. Picolight Corporation

Demonstration at OFC/NFOEC 2006

Full Press Release (PDF)

Final Program Announced for POF Day Symposium
Posted February 27, 2006

The "POF Day Symposium" will be held during the OFC/NFOEC 2006 conference at the Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, CA, USA) on Tuesday March 7, 2006 from 1PM - 5PM at booth 1466 on the exhibit floor and major suppliers of POF products will be available in Booth 1261 during the exhibit.

Two POF World Events in 2006: Call for Papers
Posted January 27, 2006

Two POF World Events in 2006: Preliminary Call for Papers

Information Gatekeepers, Inc. (IGI) has announced that it will organize two POF World events in 2006.
One on the West coast and the second on theEast Coast.

POF World West ‘06
June 20-22, 2006
Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA

POF World East '06*
November 14-15, 2006 (New Dates)
Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI*

* In conjunction with the International Wire and Cable Symposium (IWCS)

Papers and presentations are being sought in the following areas:

Proposals should include: Paper/presentation title, Author(s)' Name(s) and Affiliation(s), Abstract, Mailing address, E-mail

Please send all correspondence and submissions to:

Dr. Paul Polishuk, President
Information Gatekeepers Inc.320 Washington Street, Suite 302
Boston, MA. USA 02135

POFTO Booth at CES Draws Crowd
Posted January 27, 2006



The POFTO booth at CES 2006 was cram packed with POF information, equipment and demonstrations. The highlight of the booth was Home Fibre's POF home wiring system which was demonstrating 100Mbps over 50 meters of step Index POF. As part of the demo were media converters, wall outlets, cables, and the new SMI connector.
 
Booth participants included:

• Home Fibre
• Mitsubishi International
• FiberFin
• 1394 Trade Association
• Electronic Links International
• Information Gatekeepers, Inc.
• POFTO

Read Full Release

POF Day Symposium at OFC/NFOEC 2006
Posted January 3, 2006

The Plastic Optical Fiber Trade Organization (POFTO) plans to provide a series of presentations and demonstrations to show what POF is, what are the key applications, demonstrations of the ease of connectorization and handling, and potential market opportunities for new POF technology. It is intended to provide those not familiar with POF an up-to-date status of the POF technology and applications.

The "POF Day Symposium" will be held during the OFC/NFOEC 2006 conference at the Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, CA, USA) on Tuesday March 7, 2006 from 1PM - 5PM at booth 1466 on the exhibit floor and major suppliers of POF products will be available in Booth 1261 during the exhibit.

A preliminary schedule for the symposium includes:

1:00-1:30 Overview of POF Applications and Technology
1:30-2:00 New Fiber Developments
2:00-2:30 POF Auto Applications and the Auto Aftermarket
2:30-3:00 Networking Break
3:00-3:30 POF Connector Demonstration
3:30-4:00 POF Sources
4:00-4:30 Product Presentations
4:30-5:00 POFTO Goals and Objectives

More details will be available soon.