Transceiver Optical Interface Specifications
Contents
Introduction
As an alternative to Fiber Optic Link Certification, you may consider measuring Optic Power of the signal at the receiver's end and compare those results with the tables below.
These are Transceiver Optical Interface Specifications for the most common Network Standards. ANY optical tranceiver that lists itself as compliant with the standards, MUST be able to operate correctly when the power of the optical signal at the receiver fals in the range between Receiver Sensitivity and Receiver Saturation. Transceivers by certain vendors may perform better, resulting in higher limits for loss and length.
These tabels will be updated we come accross specification for other interface types.
Solution
 | Be extremely careful when when working with fiber optic links and interfaces. Infra-red radiation is invisible to the naked eye and could reach dangerous power levels, causing severe skin burns and permanent damage to the eyes. |
Permanent Damage
Most receivers used in enterprise networking will suffer permanent damaged when exposed to an optical power input of +5dBm or more.
This should not be a problem, as Average Launch Power of an transmitter does not exceed +4.0dBm.
Receiver Saturation
This is the power level at which the receiver is no longer capable of decoding the signal received. You could say that the receiver is "blinded" by the intense radiation of the transmitter at the far end.
In such cases, you shoud switch to a receiver that is designed for the lenght of the link. If this is impossibe - for example with very short single mode fiber optic links - consider the use of attenuators.
Receiver Sensitivity
This is the lowest level at which the receiver is capable of decoding the signal correcty.
When measuring the optical power at the receiver end, the result shoud be in the range between receiver sensitivity and receiver saturation.
10 Gigabit Optical Interface Specifications
| Optical interface | Standard | Wavelength (nm) | Receiver Saturation (dBm) | Receiver Sensitivity (dBm) | Maximum Distance rx--tx | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10GBASE-E and -ER | Single-mode | IEEE 802.3ae - 2002 | 1550 | -1.0 | -15.8 | OS1/OS2: 40km |
| 10GBASE-L and -LR | Single-mode | IEEE 802.3ae - 2002 | 1310 | +0.5 | -14.4 | OS1/OS2: 10km |
| 10GBASE-LRM | Multi-mode | IEEE 802.3aq - 2006 | 1310 | +1.5 | -6.5 |
OM3:220m OM4/OM5: not specified |
| 10GBASE-S and -SR | Multi-mode | IEEE 802.3ae - 2002 | 850 | -1.0 | -9.9 |
OM3: 300m OM4/OM5: 400m |
| 10GBASE-Z and -ZR | Single-mode | Multivendor agreement | 1550 | -7.0 | -24.0 | OS1/OS2: 80km |
40 Gigabit Optical Interface Specifications
| Optical interface | Standard | Wavelength (nm) | Receiver Saturation (dBm) | Receiver Sensitivity (dBm) | Maximum Distance rx--tx |
|---|
