IEC 60793-2-10:2011

IEC 60793-2-10
®

Edition 4.0 2011-03
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside


Optical fibres –
Part 2-10: Product specifications – Sectional specification for category A1
multimode fibres

Fibres optiques –
Partie 2-10: Spécifications de produits – Spécification intermédiaire pour les
fibres multimodales de catégorie A1

IEC 60793-2-10:2011

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IEC 60793-2-10
®

Edition 4.0 2011-03
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside


Optical fibres –
Part 2-10: Product specifications – Sectional specification for category A1
multimode fibres

Fibres optiques –
Partie 2-10: Spécifications de produits – Spécification intermédiaire pour les
fibres multimodales de catégorie A1


INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
CODE PRIX W
ICS 33.180.10 ISBN 978-2-88912-406-0

® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission
Marque déposée de la Commission Electrotechnique Internationale

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– 2 – 60793-2-10  IEC:2011
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Specifications . 7
3.1 General requirements . 7
3.2 Dimensional requirements . 8
3.3 Mechanical requirements . 9
3.4 Transmission requirements . 9
3.5 Environmental requirements . 11
3.5.1 Overview . 11
3.5.2 Mechanical environmental requirements (common to all fibres in
category A1) . 12
3.5.3 Transmission environmental requirements . 13
Annex A (normative) Family specifications for A1a multimode fibres . 14
Annex B (normative) Family specifications for A1b multimode fibres . 16
Annex C (normative) Family specifications for A1d multimode fibres . 18
Annex D (normative)  Fibre differential mode delay (DMD) and calculated effective
modal bandwidth (EMB ) requirements . 20
c
Annex E (informative) Modal bandwidth considerations and transmitter requirements . 25
Annex F (informative) Bandwidth nomenclature explanation. 27
Annex G (informative) Preliminary indications for items needing further study . 28
Annex H (informative) Applications supported by A1 fibres . 30
Annex I (informative) 1-Gbit, 10-Gbit, 40-Gbit and 100-Gbit Ethernet applications . 34
Bibliography . 38

Figure 1 – Relation between bandwidths at 850 nm and 1 300 nm . 11
Figure D.1 – DMD template requirements . 21


Table 1 – Dimensional attributes and measurement methods . 8
Table 2 – Dimensional requirements common to category A1 fibres . 8
Table 3 – Additional dimensional attributes required in the family specifications . 8
Table 4 – Mechanical attributes and measurement methods . 9
Table 5 – Mechanical requirements common to category A1 fibres . 9
Table 6 – Transmission attributes and measurement methods . 9
Table 7 – Additional transmission attributes required in family specifications . 10
Table 8 – Environmental exposure tests . 11
Table 9 – Attributes measured for environmental tests . 11
Table 10 – Strip force for environmental tests . 12
Table 11 – Tensile strength for environmental tests . 12
Table 12 – Stress corrosion susceptibility for environmental tests . 12
Table 13 – Change in attenuation for environmental tests . 13
Table A.1 – Dimensional requirements specific to A1a fibres . 14
Table A.2 – Mechanical requirements specific to A1a fibres . 14

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60793-2-10  IEC:2011 – 3 –
Table A.3 – Transmission requirements specific to A1a fibres . 15
Table B.1 – Dimensional requirements specific to A1b fibres . 16
Table B.2 – Mechanical requirements specific to A1b fibres . 16
Table B.3 – Transmission requirements specific to A1b fibres . 17
Table C.1 – Dimensional requirements specific to A1d fibres . 18
Table C.2 – Mechanical requirements specific to A1d fibres . 18
Table C.3 – Transmission requirements specific to A1d fibres . 19
Table D.1 – DMD templates for A1a.2 fibres . 20
Table D.2 – DMD interval masks for A1a.2 fibres . 22
Table D.3 – DMD Weightings . 23
Table D.4 – DMD templates for A1a.3 fibres . 24
Table D.5 – DMD interval masks for A1a.3 fibres . 24
Table F.1 – Bandwidth nomenclature explanation . 27
Table H.1 – Some internationally standardised applications supported by A1a and/or
A1b fibres . 30
Table H.2 – Typically used commercial bandwidth specifications for A1a and A1b
graded-index multimode fibres. . 31
Table H.3 – Cross reference of fibre types and bandwidth cells for this standard and
ISO/IEC 11801 . 32
Table I.1 – Summary of 1 Gbit/s , 10 Gbit/s , 40 Gbit/s and 100 Gbit/s Ethernet
requirements and capabilities for A1b fibres . 35
Table I.2 – Summary of 1 Gbit/s , 10 Gbit/s , 40 Gbit/s and 100 Gbit/s Ethernet
requirements and capabilities for A1a.1 fibres . 36
Table I.3 – Summary of 1 Gbit/s , 10 Gbit/s , 40 Gbit/s and 100 Gbit/s Ethernet
requirements and capabilities for A1a.2 and A1a.3 fibres . 37

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INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________

OPTICAL FIBRES –

Part 2-10: Product specifications –
Sectional specification for category A1 multimode fibres

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60793-2-10 has been prepared by subcommittee 86A: Fibres and
cables, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition published in 2007. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
The major changes with respect to the previous edition are listed below:
• addition of type A1a.3 fibre;
• reduction of core diameter tolerance from 3,0 to 2,5 μm for A1a fibres.

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60793-2-10  IEC:2011 – 5 –
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
CDV Report on voting
86A/1295/CDV 86A/1328/RVC

Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 60793 series, published under the general title Optical fibres can
be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.

IMPORTANT – The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct
understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a
colour printer.

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OPTICAL FIBRES –

Part 2-10: Product specifications –
Sectional specification for category A1 multimode fibres



1 Scope
This part of IEC 60793 is applicable to optical fibre types A1a, A1b, and A1d. These fibres are
used or can be incorporated in information transmission equipment and optical fibre cables.
Type A1a fibre is a 50/125 μm graded index fibre. Type A1a.1 applies to 50/125 μm fibre,
while A1a.2 and A1a.3 apply to two bandwidth grades of 850 nm laser-optimised 50/125 μm
fibre. Type A1b applies to 62,5/125 μm graded index fibre and A1d applies to 100/140 μm
graded index fibre.
Other applications include, but are not restricted to, the following: short reach, high bit-rate
systems in telephony, distribution and local networks carrying data, voice and/or video
services; on-premises intra-building and inter-building fibre installations including Data
Centres, LANs, Storage Area Networks, PBXs, video, various multiplexing uses, outside
telephone cable plant use, and miscellaneous related uses.
Three types of requirements apply to these fibres:
– general requirements, as defined in IEC 60793-2;
– specific requirements common to the category A1 multimode fibres covered in this
standard and which are given in Clause 3;
– particular requirements applicable to individual fibre types or specific applications, which
are defined in the normative family specification annexes.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 60793-1-1, Optical fibres – Part 1-1: Measurement methods and test procedures – General
and guidance
IEC 60793-1-20, Optical fibres – Part 1-20: Measurement methods and test procedures – Fibre
geometry
IEC 60793-1-21, Optical fibres – Part 1-21: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Coating geometry
IEC 60793-1-22, Optical fibres – Part 1-22: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Length measurement
IEC 60793-1-30, Optical fibres – Part 1-30: Measurement methods and test procedures – Fibre
proof test
IEC 60793-1-31, Optical fibres – Part 1-31: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Tensile strength

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60793-2-10  IEC:2011 – 7 –
IEC 60793-1-32, Optical fibres – Part 1-32: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Coating strippability
IEC 60793-1-33, Optical fibres – Part 1-33: Measurement methods and test procedures – Stress
corrosion susceptibility
IEC 60793-1-34, Optical fibres – Part 1-34: Measurement methods and test procedures – Fibre
curl
IEC 60793-1-40, Optical fibres – Part 1-40: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Attenuation
IEC 60793-1-41, Optical fibres – Part 1-41: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Bandwidth
IEC 60793-1-42, Optical fibres – Part 1-42: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Chromatic dispersion
IEC 60793-1-43, Optical fibres – Part 1-43: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Numerical aperture
IEC 60793-1-46, Optical fibres – Part 1-46: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Monitoring of changes in optical transmittance
IEC 60793-1-47, Optical fibres – Part 1-47: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Macrobending loss
IEC 60793-1-49, Optical fibres – Part 1-49: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Differential mode delay
IEC 60793-1-50, Optical fibres – Part 1-50: Measurement methods and test procedures – Damp
heat (steady state)
IEC 60793-1-51, Optical fibres – Part 1-51: Measurement methods and test procedures – Dry
heat
IEC 60793-1-52, Optical fibres – Part 1-52: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Change of temperature
IEC 60793-1-53, Optical fibres – Part 1-53: Measurement methods and test procedures – Water
immersion
IEC 60793-2:2007, Optical fibres − Part 2: Product specifications - General
IEC 60794-1-1, Optical fibre cables – Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
IEC/TR 62048:2002, Optical fibres – Reliability – Power law theory
ISO/IEC 11801:2002, Information technology – Generic cabling for customer premises
3 Specifications
3.1 General requirements
The fibre shall consist of a glass core with a graded index profile and a glass cladding in
accordance with 5.1 in IEC 60793-2.
The term “glass” usually refers to material consisting of non-metallic oxides.

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– 8 – 60793-2-10  IEC:2011
3.2 Dimensional requirements
Dimensional attributes and measurement methods are given in Table 1.
Requirements common to all fibres in category A1 are indicated in Table 2.
Table 3 lists additional attributes that shall be specified by each family specification.
Table 1 – Dimensional attributes and measurement methods
Attributes Measurement
methods
Cladding diameter IEC 60793-1-20
Core diameter IEC 60793-1-20
Cladding non-circularity IEC 60793-1-20
Core non-circularity IEC 60793-1-20
Core-cladding concentricity error IEC 60793-1-20
Primary coating diameter IEC 60793-1-21
Primary coating non-circularity IEC 60793-1-21
Primary coating-cladding concentricity error IEC 60793-1-21
Fibre length IEC 60793-1-22

Table 2 – Dimensional requirements common to category A1 fibres
Attributes Unit Limits
Core non-circularity %
≤6
a
Primary coating diameter – uncoloured
μm 245 ± 10
a
Primary coating diameter – coloured
μm 250 ± 15
Primary coating-cladding concentricity error
μm ≤12,5
b

Fibre length km
a
The above limits on primary coating diameter are most commonly used in
telecommunications cables. There are other applications, which use other primary
coating diameters, several of which are listed below.
Alternative nominal primary coating diameters and tolerance (μm):
400 ± 40
500 ± 50
700 ± 100
900 ± 100
b
Length requirements vary and should be agreed between the supplier and the

customer.

Table 3 – Additional dimensional attributes required
in the family specifications
Attributes
Cladding diameter
Cladding non-circularity
Core diameter
Core-cladding concentricity error

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60793-2-10  IEC:2011 – 9 –
3.3 Mechanical requirements
Mechanical attributes and measurement methods are given in Table 4.
Requirements common to all fibres in category A1 are in Table 5.
Table 4 – Mechanical attributes and measurement methods
Attributes Test methods
Proof test IEC 60793-1-30
Tensile strength IEC 60793-1-31
Primary coating strippability IEC 60793-1-32
Stress corrosion susceptibility IEC 60793-1-33
Fibre curl IEC 60793-1-34

Table 5 – Mechanical requirements common to category A1 fibres
Attributes Unit Limits
a
Proof stress level GPa ≥ 0,69
b
Strip force (average) N 1,0 ≤ F ≤ 5,0
ave.strip
b
Strip force (peak) N 1,0 ≤ F ≤ 8,9
peak.strip
Tensile strength (median) for 0,5 m
GPa
≥ 3,8
specimen length
Stress corrosion susceptibility constant n
d ≥ 18
a
 The proof stress of 0,69 GPa equals about 1 % strain or about 8,8 N force, for A1a
and A1b fibres. For the relation between these different units, see 7.4 of IEC/
TR 62048.
b
 Either average strip force or peak strip force, which are defined in the test
procedure, may be specified by agreement between the supplier and the customer.

3.4 Transmission requirements
Transmission attributes and measurement methods are given in Table 6.
Table 7 lists additional attributes that shall be specified by each family specification.
Table 6 – Transmission attributes and measurement methods
Attributes Measurement
methods
a
Attenuation coefficient IEC 60793-1-40
a
Modal bandwidth IEC 60793-1-41
Numerical aperture IEC 60793-1-43
b
Chromatic dispersion IEC 60793-1-42
Change of optical transmission IEC 60793-1-46
Macrobending loss IEC 60793-1-47
Differential mode delay IEC 60793-1-49
a
 When measuring attenuation and modal bandwidth, the appropriate launching
conditions should be applied. These may differ from those prescribed in the test
methods to which reference is made.
b
 Specification compliance of chromatic dispersion can be assured by compliance to
the numerical aperture specification.

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– 10 – 60793-2-10  IEC:2011
Table 7 – Additional transmission attributes required
in family specifications
Attributes
Attenuation coefficient
Modal bandwidth
Chromatic dispersion
Numerical aperture
Macrobending loss

For attenuation coefficient and modal bandwidth, the family specification contains ranges of
specifiable values instead of fixed limits. The actual values of the maximum attenuation
coefficient and minimum modal bandwidth, at both 850 nm and 1 300 nm (or just at one of
these wavelengths) are to be agreed between the supplier and the customer. For commercial
purposes, the modal bandwidth is linearly normalized to 1 km.
For guidance purposes on bandwidth, Table H.1 shows a number of internationally
standardised applications supported by A1 fibres, and Table H.2 gives a (limited) number of
frequently used commercial bandwidth specifications for A1a and A1b fibres.
The indicated maximum attenuation values apply to uncabled optical fibres; for the maximum
cabled attenuation values, reference is made to IEC 60794-1-1, which can be used in
conjunction with this standard.
Remarks on the specification of modal bandwidth:
Care should be taken in writing dual wavelength bandwidth specifications. For category A1
fibres, the bandwidth at 850 nm may be related to the bandwidth at 1 300 nm in a way shown
in Figure 1, depending on the refractive index parameter, g, (see 5.1 of IEC 60793-2). The
shaded region under the curve of Figure 1 can be defined as the dual window area. In this
area, regions X, Y, and Z are examples of where a fibre manufacturer may choose to optimise
the process. That is, centre the production at 850 nm, 1 300 nm, or between these two
wavelengths.
Due to this optimisation of the manufacturing process, there will be combinations of bandwidth
that are not possible. For example, it is practically impossible to produce a fibre with the
maximum of both indicated bandwidth ranges (e.g. 800 MHz•km /1 000 MHz•km for A1b
multimode fibres).

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60793-2-10  IEC:2011 – 11 –
IEC 074/02

Figure 1 – Relation between bandwidths at 850 nm and 1 300 nm
3.5 Environmental requirements
3.5.1 Overview
Environmental exposure tests and measurement methods are documented in two forms:
– Relevant environmental attributes and test procedures are given in Table 8.
– Measurements of a particular mechanical or transmission attribute that may change on the
application of the environment are listed in Table 9.
Table 8 – Environmental exposure tests
Environmental exposure Test
Damp heat IEC 60793-1-50
Dry heat IEC 60793-1-51
Change of temperature IEC 60793-1-52
Water immersion IEC 60793-1-53

Table 9 – Attributes measured for environmental tests
Attribute Measurement method
Change in optical transmission IEC 60793-1-46
Attenuation IEC 60793-1-40
Strip force IEC 60793-1-32
Tensile strength IEC 60793-1-31
Stress corrosion susceptibility IEC 60793-1-33

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These tests are normally conducted periodically as type-tests for a fibre an
...