Hard-clad silica optical fiber

Hard-clad silica (HCS) or polymer-clad fiber (PCF) is an optical fiber with a core of silica glass (diameter: 200 μm) and an optical cladding made of special plastic (diameter: 230 μm).

In contrast to all-silica fiber, the core and cladding can be separated from each other.

Due to their medium bandwidths and transmission rates of less than 100 Mbit/s, HCS fibers are suitable for distances of up to 2 km, e.g. in local networks in buildings and industry.

For comparison, plastic optical fibers (POF) have low bandwidths and transmission rates (typically 100 Mbit/s).

Glass fibers on the other hand have very high bandwidths and transmission rates of up to GBit/s.