Researchers from Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y., and W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. of Newark, Del., have successfully tested Corning's prototype InfiniCor fiber using Gore's 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. The fiber, which is optimized for 850-nm operation, displayed serial transmission at both Gigabit Ethernet speeds and 10 Gb/s.

The team simulated real-world conditions by including multiple connectors in the cabled link. The setup transmitted an error-free eye diagram 2000 m at Gigabit Ethernet speeds and 500 m at 10 Gb/s. Corning premises product line manager Carolyn Case cited a survey by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers that suggests a 500-m link at 10 Gb/s would satisfy 98 percent of in-building backbones.