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Optical Connector for Automobiles

1.

INTRODUCTION

With the widespread use of car navigation systems andthe start of ITS (intelligent transport systems) services,
there is a growing need for in-vehicle LANs that carry out
information data transmission in vehicles to have greatertransmission capacity for moving pictures and audio
signals. Greater data transmission speed, however, incurs
noise radiation from the wire harness, creating a need fornoise suppression measures and thus resulting in cost
increase. It is known that optical fibers can effectively
prevent the noise radiation, and POF (plastic optical fiber),in particular, are easy to be spliced, so that they canconfigure a high-speed transmission system at a relatively
modest cost.
Currently, the development of high-speed datatransmission systems is under way on a worldwide
scale. In Europe, a transmission system called “MOST®”(Media Oriented System Transport) has been developed
accompanied by the establishment of MOST Cooperation,and cars using MOST with POF have been launched into
market since the last half of 2001.
The MOST standards specify the connector
configuration together with the electrical and opticalcharacteristics, and Table 1 shows the class of MOST
optical connectors specified. They are comprised of an
LED/PD pair to effect optical transmission, a housing to be
fitted with a plug connector on the harness, and electricalcontacts, permitting simultaneous fitting of the optical andelectrical contacts. Furukawa Electric has developed andTable 1

MOST optical connector family.

Nickname

Number of
optical contacts

Number ofelectrical contacts

2+02

02+42

42+122122+202

204+40440† MOST ® is a registered trademark of OASIS Silicon Systems.

Photo 1Appearance of MOST2+0 connector.

Photo 2

Appearance of MOST2+4 connector.

brought into the marketplace the MOST optical connectors
2+0 and 2+4 in conformity to the MOST standards, which
will be introduced as follows.

2.

CONSTRUCTION AND APPEARANCE

Photo 1 shows the appearance of MOST2+0 connector
with two optical contacts, comprising of LED/PD opticaldevices, intermediate optical conductors, a socket
housing, and a metal case.
Photo 2 shows the appearance of MOST2+4 connector
having a hybrid structure of two optical contacts and fourelectrical contacts. It is comprised of LED/PD opticaldevices, intermediate optical conductors, a socket
housing, electrical contacts, and a metal case.

Furukawa Review, No. 24

2003

100

Optical Connector for Automobiles

Table 2Specifications of MOST optical connectors.
Item

Specifications

Operating temperature-40~85°C

Data rate

Table 345 Mbps (NRZ)

Optical characteristics of MOST optical connector.
Item

Unit

Minimum

Maximum

Peak wavelength

nm

630

685

Spectral half bandwidth

nm

−30

Optical output

dBm‑10‑3.1

SensitivitydBm‑24‑23.

SPECIFICATIONS

Tables 2 and 3 show the specifications and the typicaloptical characteristics of MOST optical connectors,respectively.

4.

5.

IN CONCLUSION

We have developed MOST2+0 and MOST2+4
connectors conforming to the MOST standards in termsof cofiguration and characteristics. They are efficient,compact, and EMI resistant. The products developed here
have been in mass production since the summer of 2002.
We plan to develop hereafter the following MOST
connectors.
1) MOST2+12 with two optical and 12 electricalcontacts
2) MOST2+20 with two optical and 20 electricalcontacts
3) MOST4+40 with four optical and 40 electricalcontacts
By developing these products we intend to build up
our product lineup, thereby responding to the diversified
market needs.
For more information, please contact:
International Business Development Dept.,
Automotive Products Div.
TEL: +81-3-3286-3230
FAX: +81-3-3286-3984

FEATURES

Furukawa's MOST optical connectors have the followingfeatures.
1) High-efficiency optical intermediate conductors: A
dedicated plastic lens designed by our proprietary
technique is used as an intermediate opticalconductor between the optical device and POF,
realizing high-efficiency coupling of the incident lightfrom the optical device to the POF as well as the low
splicing loss of the POF.
2) Enhanced EMI resistance: Noise resistance has
been enhanced due to the use of electric conductive
resin for the socket housing, in addition to theshielding of the optical devices using a metal case.
3) Downsizing: The compact connector employs aheader-type structure integrating the optical devices
conforming to the MOST standards with the sockethousing.
4) Hybrid structure: Connectors of hybrid structureaccommodating optical as well as electrical contacts
are available allowing suitable selection according toapplications.
5) Prevention of wrong fitting: Inner ribs of several
different forms are provided in the socket housing toprevent wrong fitting.

Furukawa Review, No. 24

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