A fiber optical transceiver is a device used to send and receive optical information. By using an optical transceiver, network spend less space and steer clear of the necessity of getting a transmitter and receiver in the network. Able to transmitting information further and faster than older models, the more recent transceivers are utilized and appearance, creating more compact, smaller sized modules than ever before.

How Do Fiber Optic Transceivers Work
A fiber optic transceiver is a accessory acclimated to forward and accept optical information. There are a number of different components on one of these devices, including a light source and an electrical component. The transceiver has two ends, one that an optical cable plugs into and accession for abutting an electrical device. Fiber optic transceivers combine a fiber optic transmitter and a fiber optic receiver in a single module. They are arranged in parallel so that they can operate independently of each other. Both the receiver and the transmitter have their own circuitry and can handle transmissions in both directions.

In fiber optic data links, the transmitter converts an electrical signal into an optical signal, which is coupled with a connector and transmitted through a fiber optic cable. The light from the end of the cable is coupled to a receiver, where a detector converts the light back into an electrical signal. Either a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode is used as the light source.

How to Select Fiber Optic Transceivers
Fiber optic transceivers are designed for use with single mode or multi-mode cable. There are a number of different types of fiber optic transceivers available. They differ in the types of connections as well as in the quality of data transmission. Speed of transmission may also change from device to device. So it is necessary to choose the right fiber modules for your network.

Single-mode fibers (SMF) transmit infrared (IR) laser light at wavelength from 1,300 to 1,550 nm. They have small cores and are used withlaser sources for high speed, long distance links.
Multimode fibers have larger cores and are used mainly with LED sources for lower speed, shorter distance links. The typical transmission speeds and distance limits are 100 Mbit/s for up to 2km, 1Gbit/s to 220-550m, and 10Gbit/s to 300m.
Products that can be used with both types of optical fiber are also available.

Ingellen provides not only the classical 1x9 footprint duplex package but also advanced packages such as SFP (small form-factor pluggable) transceiver module(like 1000Base-T copper SFP), GBIC (Gigabit Interface Converter) fiber transceiver, BIDI (single fiber bi-directional) fiber optic transceiver, BIDI-SFP transceiver module, and BIDI-GBIC transceiver, SFP+ transceiver module, XFP optical transceiver, Xenpak optical transceiver, X2 transceiver module. In addition, optical transceivers with Digital Diagnostic Function are also available. All fiber transceivers are RoHS compliant and could be 100% compatible with branding equipment, such as Cisco, Extreme, Juniper, HP, H3C, Linksys, Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent, Foundry, Nortel, Force10 etc.

 Xenpak transceiver, one of the first generation 10G fiber optic transceivers, supports all optical ports as defined in IEEE 802.3ae, supporting speed 10.3 Gb/s,9.95 Gb/s or4×3.125 Gb/s. XENPAK, remain very popular as the install base is large, while the newest SFP+ offer a much smaller form factor and the ability to offer 1G/10G combo ports on hardware for the first time. Also, X2 transceiver is the successor to the XENPAK.

Xenpak transceiver is protocol-specific: Either 10G Ethernet or 10G Fibre Channel versions are available. Xenpak transponders are used in datacom optical links only (not telecom). Its electrical interface to the host board is also standardized and is called XAUI (4 x 3.125 Gb/s). Xenpak transceiver is packed in a 4.8×1.4×0.7 inch package, used DFB laser components, Xenpak working distance via G652 multimode fiber could reach up to 10km, another important components inside the Xenpak is the MUX/DEMUX parts, it consume 50% of the power and result in the bigger size. There are various kinds of 10G Xenpak transceivers, typical types include the Xenpak 10GB SR , with 300 meters working span; Xenpak 10GB LR , with 10km working distance; Xenpak 10GB ER, with 40km working distance and the 80km Xenpak 10GB ZR.

Xenpak 10GB SR
XENPAK 10GB SR is a multimode 10GB fiber optic transceiver. It supports a link length of 26m on standard FDDI grade MMF. Up to 300m link lengths are possible when using 2000 MHz/km MMF (OM3).
Xenpak 10GB LR
Xenpak 10GB LR is 10GB single mode fiber optic transceiver. The XENPAK-10GB-LR is a highly integrated serial optical transponder module for high-speed, 10Gbit/s data transmission applications. 4×3.125Gbps Ethernet Signal Input by XAUI Interface.
Xenpak 10GB ER
Xenpak 10GB ER is 40km single mode transceiver for 10G networks. Xenpak 10GB ER transceivers is a 10GB hot swappable transceiver use duplex SC interface, it works with 1550nm single mode fiber for a max 40km working distance.
Xenpak 10GB ZR
The Cisco compliant XENPAK-10GB-ZR is a 10GBASE-ZR XENPAK 1550nm 80km transceiver module. The XENPAK-10GB-ZR transceiver module provides a low cost high-performance connection.

Ingellen is an original manufacturer of XENPAK transceiver, who has many years experiences in offering XENPAK transceiver. Ingellen's XENPAK transceivers are highly integrated, serial optical transponder modules designed for high-speed, 10Gbps data transmission applications. The modules are fully compliant with the IEEE 802.3ae standard making it ideally suited for 10GbE datacom applications. Futher, from Ingellen Corporation you can easily find other 10G modules like 10g sfp transceiver, 10g sfp+ transceiver, 10g xenpak transceiver, 10g xfp transceiver, 10gb x2 transceiver and so on.

 XFP Optic Transceiver is the 10Gigabit small form pluggable transceiver, which is protocol independent optical media conversion equipment. XFP modules are designed for single mode fiber and operates at a nominal wavelength of 850/1310/1550 nm. They can operate over a single wavelength or use dense wavelength-division multiplexing techniques. They are widely used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gbit/s Fibre Channel, synchronous optical networking (SONET) at OC-192 rates, synchronous optical networking STM-64, 10 Gbit/s Optical Transport Network (OTN) OTU-2, and parallel optics links. Nowadays, XFP is the most compact size and low cost 10G transceivers.

10g XFP feature its most compact size and most economic prices compared with its former 10g transceivers and this help it took a lot of the market. 10 Gigabit Ethernet port on the switches and routers are usually independent and can be installed with pluggable fiber optic transceiver modules, which make it more convenient for end users.

10g XFP is the small form factor pluggable transceiver designed for the 10 gigabit network applications. When IEEE 802.3ae was made in 2002, Ethernet standards had expanded to the 10ge, the 10g Ethernet increased the data rate by 10 times than gigabit Ethernet and the working distance also enlarged a lot compared with before. 10g XFP is designed based on these standards, and will also support OC192/STM-64 and 10G Fibre Channel. Typical 10g XFP in the market include SR, LR, ER, ZR versions.

XFP 10G MM SR
XFP SR is 10Gbps fiber optic transceiver working at 850nm wavelength, XFP SR typical working distance is 300 meters; XFP SR is suitable for use in 10G datacom (belly-to-belly for high density applications) and storage area network (SAN/NAS) applications based on IEEE 802.3ae and Fiber Channel standards.
XFP 10GLR OC192SR
XFP LR is hot swappable fiber optic transceiver used for 10G networks like 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SDH, SONET, XFP LR support data transfer rate from 9.95Gbps to 11.1Gbps, max working distance of the XFP LR fiber transceiver is 10km.
XFP 10GER OC192IR
XFP ER adopts cooled EML laser diode and PIN photodiode, XFP ER is 10G fiber optic transceiver which is fully compatible with XFP MSA and IEEE 802.3ae-2002, max working span of the XFP ER is 40km.
XFP-10GZR-OC192LR
XFP ZR is 10Gbps fiber optic transceiver which is compatible with IEEE 802.3ae and Fiber Channel standards, XFP ZR use single mode optical fiber and its max working span could reach 80km, XFP ZR use 1550nm working wavelength, this fiber optic transceiver use dual LC fiber interface and the other end of the module could fit into relevant XFP slots or ports.

Ingellen offers the whole series of 10G XFP fiber optic transceivers, including: XFP 10GBASE-SR 300M (MMF OM3); XFP 10GBASE-LRM MMF 220M; XFP 10GBASE-LR SMF 10-20KM; XFP 10GBASE-ER SMF 40KM; XFP 10GBASE-ZR SMF 80KM; 18 Channels CWDM XFP; 40 Channels DWDM XFP; BIDI XFP; etc. 10Gbps XFP Module is made according to the multi source agreement (MSA). Ingellen also manufacture original XFP MM 300m, XFP 10km, XFP 20km, XFP 40km, XFP 80km, XFP 120km, CWDM XFP, DWDM XFP, WDM XFP, BiDi XFP, single fiber XFP and series of compatible XFP transceivers such as Cisco XFP, 3Com XFP, Juniper XFP, Foundry XFP, Extreme XFP, Dell XFP, Finisar XFP and more.

 SFP (small form-factor pluggable) is a popular industry format jointly developed and supported by many network component vendors. SFP transceiver is designed to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards.

Main Features:
Industry standard small form pluggable (SFP) package;
Immovable lock Design;
Hot Pluggable;
Duplex LC connector;
Full duplex speeds support;
TTL signal detect indicator;
3.3 VDC power supply;
Industry leading EMI performance for high port density;
Class 1 laser product complies with EN 60825-1;
RoHS compliant.

The Types
SFP Transceivers have a wide range of detachable interfaces to multimode/single-mode fiber optics, which allows users to select the appropriate transceiver according to the required optical range for the network. SFP has transmission rate ranging from 100Mbps to 4Gbps and it can work at distances ranging between 500 meters to hundreds of kilometers. Optical SFP modules are commonly available in several different categories, including single mode SFP, multimode SFP and copper SFP, which are with various working wavelength and functions. Each type comes with different configurations of transmitter and receiver.

Multi-mode fiber
SX - 850 nm, for a maximum of 550 m at 1.25 Gbit/s (Gigabit Ethernet) or 150m at 4.25 Gbit/s (Fibre Channel).
Single-mode fiber
LX - 1310 nm, for distances up to 10 km;
BX - 1490 nm/1310 nm, Single Fiber Bi-Directional Gigabit SFP Transceivers, paired as BS-U and BS-D for Uplink and Downlink respectively, also for distances up to 10 km. Variations of bidirectional SFPs are also manufactured which use 1550 nm in one direction;
1550 nm 40 km (XD), 80 km (ZX), 120 km (EX or EZX);
CWDM and DWDM SFP transceivers at various wavelengths achieving various maximum distances.
Copper fiber
1000BASE-T - these modules incorporate significant interface circuitry and can only be used for Gigabit Ethernet, as that is the interface they implement. They are not compatible with (or rather:do not have equivalents for) Fibre channel or SONET.

Suitable Applications:
Switches/bridges/routers/servers;
SONET/SDH Network;
Gigabit Ethernet;
1x/2x Fiber Channel;
Point-to-point networking;
Metro Access Rings;
Fiber-to-the-desktop (FTTD);
High-speed computer links;
LAN, SAN (local, storage area networks).

The Advantages
SFP, also called a mini GigaBit Interface Converter (GBIC), is an upgraded version of GBIC module. Since SFP is only half the size of the GBIC, making it saved more space. Any future changes can be easily incorporated into the SFP module, it is easier to change and easier for maintenance compared with traditional modules. Users can replace a single SFP module during the process instead of replace the whole board with many modules on it.

SFP optic transceiver is also available with copper cable interfaces, which allows a host device designed primarily for optical fiber communications to communicate over shielded or unshielded twisted pair networking cables. Usually such copper cable interfaces are used when the information to be transmitted needs to cover only shorter distances where use of copper cable is more economical than optic fiber cables.

Modern optical SFP transceivers support digital diagnostics monitoring (DDM) functions, also known as digital optical monitoring (DOM). This feature gives users the ability to monitor the real-time parameters of SFP, such as optical output power, optical input power, temperature, laser-bias current and transceiver supply voltage. SFP transceivers are housed in a metal enclosure and their power dissipation is low. They operate over a wide temperature range and support a large number of different types of cable. An improved version of SFP optical transceiver standard called SFP+ can support transmission rates up to 10Gbps.

 GLC-T Copper Small Form Pluggable (SFP)transceivers offer a convenient and cost effective solution for the adoption of Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel in data center, campus, metropolitan area access and ring networks, and storage area networks.

It is compliant with the Gigabit Ethernet and 1000- BASE-T standards as specified in IEEE 802.3-2002 and IEEE 802.3ab, which supports 1000Mbps data- rate up to 100 meters reach over Category 5 copper line. The Cisco SFP provides full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to high-end workstations and between wiring closets over existing copper network infrastructure. Cisco GLC-T SFP transceiver is a hot pluggable module which with RJ45 interface, it is compatible to use with 1000Base-T application.

Cisco GLC-T optical module features:
Up to 1.25Gb/s bi-directional data links;
Hot-pluggable SFP footprint;
Extended case temperature range (0°C to +70°C );
Fully metallic enclosure for low EMI;
Low power dissipation (1.05 W typical);
Compact RJ-45 connector assembly;
Access to physical layer IC via 2-wire serial bus;
1000 BASE-T operation in host systems with SERDES interface;
10/100/1000Mbps compliant in host systems with SGMII interface.

The GLC-T SFP transceiver supports1000 Mbps full duplex data-links with 5-level Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) signals. All 4 pairs on the cable being used with symbol rate at 250Mbps on each pair. The GLC-T SFP transceiver provides standard serial ID information compliant with SFP MSA, and this can be accessed with address of A0h by its 2wire serial CMOS EEPROM protocol. The physical IC can also be accessed via 2wire serial bus at address A0h.

Ingellen original GLC-T SFP products are fully compatible with Cisco routers and switches. Each GLC-T transceiver is programmed with a unique serial number and a Cisco compatible CRYPTO code. In addition, GLC-T supplied by Ingellen is automatically rate adaptable to operation at 10, 100, or 1000Mbps speeds over up to 100 meters of unshielded twisted-pair category 5 cable. Like other fiber optic products supplied by Ingellen, the GLC-T is backed by a 3-year non- prorated warranty, free email/phone technical support and advanced replacement (with RMA) and guaranteed emergency spares.