Comparison of Multimode fiber OM1/2/3/4/5 parameters!

Fiber optics are generally divided into single-mode fiber and multi-mode fiber, this time we will mainly start from the multi-mode fiber. Multimode fiber allows many different modes of transmission within it when transmitting signals, and the transmission distance is limited due to the effect of mode dispersion brought about by multiple modes of transmission. Let’s start directly with the OM series of multimode fibers.

Multimode fiber

OM1/2/3/4/5 Multimode Fiber’Standards Definition

There are many standards for multimode optical fiber, specifically the multimode fiber standard defined by the TIA organization and later adopted by the ISO/IEC organization.
“OM”-optical mode, is the standard for multimode fiber to indicate the fiber grade. Different grades have different bandwidths and maximum distances, etc. when transmitting.
If you want to know the fastest specific parameters of these 5 specifications, just click to enlarge the table below.

Quick Comparison of OM1/2/3/4

Comparison of OM1/2/3/4 optical fiber parameters and specifications
OM1: refers to 850/1300nm full injection bandwidth in 200/500MHz.km above the 50um or 62.5um core diameter multimode fiber.
OM2: refers to 850/1300nm full injection bandwidth in 500/500MHz.km above 50um or 62.5um core diameter multimode fiber.
OM3 is 850nm laser-optimized 50um core diameter multimode fiber, and the fiber transmission distance can reach 300m in 10Gb/s Ethernet using 850nm VCSEL.
OM4 is the upgraded version of OM3 multimode fiber, and the fiber transmission distance can reach 550m.

OM12345 Multimode Fiber’Standards Definition

Internal structure of OM1/2/3/4 optical fiber Comparison

OM1 and OM2:
Both OM1 and OM2 use LED (Light Emitting Diode) as the basic light source in terms of standard and design.
OM3 and OM4:
OM3 and OM4 are optimized on the basis of OM2, and are also suitable for transmission where the light source is LD (Laser Diode). Compared with OM1 and OM2, OM3 has a higher transmission rate and bandwidth, so it is called optimized multimode fiber or 10 Gigabit multimode fiber.

Comparison of OM1/2/3/4 Fiber Optic Functions and Features
OM1: The core diameter and numerical aperture are larger, and it has stronger light collection ability and bending resistance.
OM2: The core diameter and numerical aperture are smaller, which effectively reduces the mode dispersion of the multimode fiber, increases the bandwidth significantly, and reduces the production cost by 1/3.
OM3: The use of flame retardant jacket prevents the spread of flames, prevents the emission of smoke, acid gases and toxic gases, etc., and meets the needs of 10 Gb/s transmission rate.
OM4: Developed for VSCEL laser transmission, the effective bandwidth is more than double that of OM3.
Comparison of OM1/2/2/4 fiber application scenarios
OM1 and OM2:
OM1 and OM2 have been widely deployed for many years for applications inside buildings, supporting Ethernet path transmission with a maximum value of 1 Gb.
OM3 and OM4:
OM3 and OM4 cables are typically used in data center cabling environments, supporting 10G and even 40/100G high-speed Ethernet transmission.

Multimode fiber OM5

Multimode fiber OM5 known as broadband multimode fiber patch cord, OM5 fiber is a laser-optimized multimode fiber with bandwidth characteristics specified for WDM.
OM5 Fiber Definition
This new fiber classification is designed to support a wide range of “short” wavelengths between 850nm and 950nm, which when aggregated are suitable for high bandwidth applications. OM3 and OM4 are designed to support a single wavelength of 850nm.

MPO OM5

1.Fewer Fiber Supports, Higher Bandwidth Applications
The OM5 fiber optic patch cord operates at 850/1300nm and can support at least four wavelengths, whereas the OM3 and OM4 typically operate at 850nm and 1300nm. This means that while traditional OM1, OM2, OM3, and OM4 multimode fibers have only one channel, the OM5 has four channels, which is a four-fold increase in transmission capacity.
Combining short-wave wavelength-division multiplexing (SWDM) and parallel transmission technologies, OM5 requires only eight cores of wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) to support 200/400G Ethernet applications, greatly reducing the number of fiber cores and lowering network cabling costs to a large extent.

2.Longer Transmission Distance
The transmission distance of OM5 fiber is longer than that of OM3 and OM4. OM4 fiber is designed to support a length of at least 100 meters with 100G-SWDM4 transceivers. But OM5 fiber can support up to 150 meters length with the same transceiver.

3.Lower Fiber Loss
The attenuation of OM5 broadband multimode fiber optic cables has been reduced from 3.5 dB/km in the previous OM3 and OM4 cables to 3.0 dB/km, with the added requirement of increased bandwidth at 953nm.

4.Full Compatibility with OM3 and OM4
OM5 has the same fiber size as OM3 and OM4, which means that it is fully compatible with OM3 and OM4, and no changes are required to apply OM5 to existing cabling.
OM5 fiber is more scalable and flexible, able to support higher speed network transmission with fewer multimode fiber cores, while the cost and power consumption are much lower than single-mode fiber.