Sumitomo Electric , Korea's OPHIT to develop fiber DVI sytem for large-screen presentations
Osaka, August 27, 2001 – Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. (SEI) and OPHIT CO. LTD of Korea have developed an optical digital visual interface (DVI) system for connecting computers to large digital display screens at higher speeds and lower costs than standard DVI systems.
Able to transmit 1.25 Gbit/s of data over 500 m, fiber DVI is perfect for use in observation rooms for hospital operations, schools, and any other places where users require a simple, flexible way to use large, high-resolution images to make presentations.
Fiber DVI corresponds to the Digital Visual Interface standard, which was set up by major electronics makers in 1999 to standardize the way digital signals are transmitted from personal computers to display screens. The system overcomes two of the most common problems with DVI systems, which traditionally use copper cables to connect cmputers and display screens.
The first was that, in order to increase data transmission capacity, it was necessary to increase data transmission speed. However, the faster transmission speeds were increased, the quicker the signal deteriorated, so signals could only be transmitted over lines a few meters long. The other problem was that the faster the transmission speed, the more radiowaves the lines gave off, which disrupted electrical equipment nearby.
While standard optical lines remove many of these problems, they require extra equipment, which was bulky, expensive and needed external power supply to operate and so could only be used in a limited number of applications.
Fiber DVI uses SEI's hard-polymer clad fiber, which can transmit a large quantity of data at high speed over short distances and is used mainly for middle-distance telecommunication systems. The line core, which carries the signal, is made from silica, while hard polymer is used for the cladding, which reflects the light back into the core. Public telephone systems use silica in both the core and cladding of the optical cable.
The large core of H-PCF which is 200 microns in diameter allows good coupling efficiency that is 9 dB higher than value of typical 62.5-micron all-silica fiber with peripherals such as light sources, photo detectors or connectors. This feature can reduce assembly costs electrical/optical converter unit by reducing the need for precise alignments between fiber and light source and detectors.
OPHIT has developed an ultra-small form integrated circuit that changes electric signals to optical signals, and a system that runs off the electric current from the computer it is connected to, allowing OPHIT to make the connectors for fiber DVI the same size as regular connectors.
One fiber DVI set comes with E/O and O/E optical connectors that are 54 mm long, 40 mm wide, and 15 mm high, and includes 100 meters of fiber optic cable. One set costs 200,000 yen ($1,660), half the price of former optical DVI systems.
The companies have started to ship samples of fiber DVI and the product will be available in Japan and overseas from October. The companies expect to sell 2,000 sets in 2002, and 10,000 sets in 2004.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., is Japan's largest
manufacturer of optical fiber and cables. In addition to DWDM technology, SEI also markets sophisticated information systems such as optical fiber LANs, traffic control systems and CATV networks.
Ophit, a venture company located in Suwon, Korea, was founded by former employees of Samsung Electronics that specialize in the development of optical products using VCSEL for short distance optical communication. The company is developing unique optical data communication products that have a compact and low-cost design concept for various interfaces like USB, IEEE1394 in addition to Fiber DVI.