Separate tests performed on the 50-µm InfiniCor multimode fiber, which is produced by Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y., demonstrated serial transmission at 10 Gb/s over 600 m and at Gigabit Ethernet speeds over 3000 m. The InfiniCor fiber is optimized for the propagation of an 850-nm pulse.

One test simulated field conditions, employing multiple connectors and an 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) from W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. of Newark, Del.

Frank Peters, the lead research scientist at Gore, said the results indicate that VCSELs and multimode fibers will be suitable for the bandwidth demand of local area networks in the future.

In the second test, a high-pass bit error rate tester and a high-speed signal communications analyzer showed error-free transmission over the 3000-m fiber.