Optoelectronics
OMC – masters in the art and science of controlling light
Used in a vast range of industries including aerospace and defence, research, power distribution, medical, petrochemical, robotics, instrumentation and transportation, optoelectronics controls much of our world in invisible ways. The sourcing, detection and control of light is still considered a “black art” by many and one that few have mastered. William Heath, commercial director, OMC tells us more
A
t the forefront of developments in optoelectronics for the last 35 years is a British company, OMC. It
specialises in designing and manufacturing fibre optic components and systems, LED backlights and mouldings, discrete optoelectronic components and semiconductor lighting. Well-known as Europe’s leading source of optoelectronics expertise and problem solving, the company’s standard and custom products are manufactured in its new purpose-built facility in Cornwall, which opened last year. Designed to support complex manufacturing processes and
development and assembly departments, specialist test areas and a new machine shop capable of both prototyping and mass component production.
Industrial fibre optics OMC’s fibre optic division’s manufacturing facilities have been designed to be flexible in order to cope with demand fluctuations which occur regularly due to the contract-based nature of many industrial projects. Used around the globe, OMC’s proprietary fibre optic components all interface with industry standards yet have considerably enhanced features to meet critical
performance and reliability
specifications. For the design of complete fibre optic links, the engineering support team works with the customers’ designers and engineers to select components and work on optical budget calculations and OMC provides all necessary advice and services, right
with specialist equipment, OMC’s £1.2 million investment in new facilities and expansion was driven by increasing demand and significant growth in two areas in particular: fibre optic transmitters and receivers,
particularly for use in industrial applications, and customer-specific LED backlighting for LCD displays. In its manufacturing facility, OMC has dedicated
32 September 2018 Components in Electronics
through to custom component manufacture.
Why optical fibre? Optical fibre offers a number of advantages over other methods of data transmission – it carries high data rates, suits long-distance data transmission, has immunity to EM and radio frequency interference, generates no electrical noise, and isolates high voltages. In addition, it is highly secure (it is difficult to “tap in”) and extremely reliable when correctly designed and installed. Optical fibre is very lightweight and has a small form factor, plus the light source at the transmitter end is low temperature. It’s worth mentioning that many commodity fibre optic components available on the market today are designed for consumer and consumer-type applications. Industrial fibre optics need precision, performance, consistency and robustness. Critical applications such as railway and MTR braking systems, MRI scanners, high voltage switchgear in power distribution grids have extremely high demands when it comes to quality, performance and engineering support.
Single mode versus multi-mode optical fibre: An optical fibre consists of a highly refractive core, surrounded by a cladding of a lower refractive index. In larger core, (typically >50µ) fibres, known as “multi- mode” fibres, a beam of light entering the core of the fibre is transmitted by total internal reflection (step index fibre) or by multiple refraction (graded index fibre). In the case of small core fibres (generally<8µ), known as single or mono mode fibres, the light can be considered to travel a straight path down the fibre and to take advantage of this single mode of propagation, a narrow wavelength spread laser light source is used. This achieves extraordinarily high speeds of signal transmission, well into the GHz range and possibly beyond. These single mode fibres transmit phone calls, cable TV and other information in large quantities at high speed. Multi- mode optical fibres however don’t need to carry the large quantity, high-speed signals required by, for example, the internet. They can use lower-cost LED light sources that emit over a wide optical spectrum, and are restricted in the amount of information they can carry by their inherent response time. Transmission speeds of up to around 150MHz can be achieved. OMC specialises in multi-mode optical designs in both glass and
polymer fibre, having pioneered the use of polymer fibre throughout Europe, and manufactures a wide range of polymer and glass fibre connector systems, transmitters/receivers and accessories. It is widely considered a world-leading expert in the application of multi mode glass and polymer optical fibre. Particularly for demanding applications, customers turn to OMC when off-the-shelf components cannot meet required specifications. OMC’s data links utilise a proprietary system called Active Component Technology (ACA), a device optimisation facility that ensures every device meets the precise performance window required by the customer. For fibre optic cable assemblies, OMC’s in-house facilities include cable assembly design, optical budget calculation, connector design and CNC manufacture, cable reeling and cutting, end polishing, end termination, optical alignment, electro- optical testing, microscopic inspection and OTDR measurement.
Latest product developments OMC understands the modern challenges faced by designers in industrial fibre optics and targets its product development on addressing them, recently releasing over 20 new industrial fibre-optic connector and receptacle designs. These include its new KSMA devices, which ensure that fibres sit in the same position to within a few microns when a connection is de- coupled and re-mated. This ensures performance doesn’t vary between test and installation which can be hugely important in critical applications. To assist the ongoing drive towards miniaturisation, OMC has also introduced a range of high-density transmitter/receiver devices designed to pack more optical connections into the same amount of board-edge, and a vertical package which occupies minimal PCB area when a single link is required.
www.omc-uk.com www.cieonline.co.uk
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