Characterizing bandwidth/length uniformity in high speed data communication multimode optical fiber

Multimode optical fiber is sold every day with a specification list that includes a bandwidth value measured in MHz*km. Although multimode fiber is sold on a per kilometer basis, the desired manufacturing length is much greater than 1 km. Add to these facts that the application window for multimode fiber is generally less than 1 km, and it becomes clear that the fiber manufacturer does not measure the fiber length that will actually be deployed. Therefore, some work is required to ensure that the bandwidth measurement in the manufacturing plant will relate to the bandwidth of the fiber deployed in optical communication systems. G. Mahlke & P. Gossing (1997) provided an equation for the relationship between fiber bandwidth and length. This equation is examined and some test results are reported