Standardization of Multimode Optical Fiber for Automotive Wire Harnesses in Next Generation Autonomous Vehicles
by Rick Pimpinella, Jose Castro, Yu Huang, Bulent Kose, Brett Lane – Panduit Labs, Panduit Corp.
To enable the required high-speed network communications, the IEEE Ethernet Standards body, project 802.3cz is specifying a new multi-gigabit optical automotive Ethernet Standard1. The Task Force objectives include 2.5G, 5G, 10G, 25G Ethernet up to at least 40 m with four in-line mated connector pairs, and 50G up to at least 15 m with two in-cline connectors. The optical connectivity to be specified for use in next generation automotive wire harnesses will be graded-index multi-mode fiber and a specified new connector design for in-line harness interconnection. In Table 1, we list both the electrical and optical multi-gigabit Ethernet Standards.