Influence of Connectors on the Performance of a VCSEL-Based Standard Step-Index POF Link

An experimental investigation on the influence of connectors in a large core step-index plastic optical fiber-based link, in terms of the available bandwidth, has been performed. A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with a small launch numerical aperture was used, while a number of subscriber connectors were placed into different positions of a 50-m link. Significant performance degradation was observed when the connectors were placed at the beginning of the link. The impact was of minor importance when they were placed at a distance from the transmitter which was longer than the coupling length.