What is the difference between OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, OM5
Multimode fibers are identified by the OM (“optical mode”) designation as outlined in the ISO/IEC 11801 standard.
OM1, for fiber with 200/500 MHz*km overfilled launch (OFL) bandwidth at 850/1300nm (typically 62.5/125um fiber)
OM2, for fiber with 500/500 MHz*km OFL bandwidth at 850/1300nm (typically 50/125um fiber)
OM3, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 2000 MHz*km effective modal bandwidth (EMB, also known as laser bandwidth), designed for 10 Gb/s transmission.
OM4, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 4700 MHz*km EMB bandwidth designed for 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s, and 100 Gb/s transmission.
OM5, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 28000 MHz*km (
28GHz*km ) EMB bandwidth designed for 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s, and 100 Gb/s transmission.
Physical Difference
Physical difference mainly lies in diameter, jacket color, optical source and bandwidth, which is described in the following table.
|
Multi Mode Fiber Cable |
Diameter |
Jacket Color |
Optical Source |
Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
OM1 |
62.5/125µ
|
Orange
|
LED
|
200MHz*km
|
|
OM2
|
50/125µm
|
Orange |
LED
|
500MHz*km
|
|
OM3
|
50/125µm
|
Aqua |
VSCEL
|
2000MHz*km
|
|
OM4
|
50/125µm
|
Aqua |
VSCEL
|
4700MHz*km
|
|
OM5 |
50/125µm |
Lime Green |
VSCEL
|
28000MHz*km
|
Practical Difference
Multimode fibers are able to transmit different distance ranges at various data rate. You can choose the most suited one according to your actual application.
The max multimode fiber distance comparison at different data rate is specified below.
| MMF Category | Fast Ethernet | 1GbE | 10GbE | 40GbE | 100GbE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OM1 | 2000m | 275m | 33m |
Not specified
|
Not specified |
| OM2 | 2000m | 550m | 82m |
Not specified
|
Not specified
|
| OM3 | 2000m |
Not specified
|
300m | 100m | 70m |
| OM4 | 2000m |
Not specified
|
550m | 150m | 150m |
| OM5 |
Not specified
|
Not specified
|
550m | 150m | 150m |