A graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI POF) is a promising optical cable for indoor networks because of its flexibility, safety, and high bandwidth. Recently, we proposed a low-noise GI POF utilizing the strong mode coupling due to the distinctive microscopic heterogeneities in the core polymer material. This will facilitate the proliferation of noise-sensitive radio-over-fiber (RoF) transmission and multilevel pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM), which are vital for ultra-high-definition (UHD) media transmission in indoor networks. Here, we introduce the recent progress in the GI POF technology for next-generation indoor networks in the upcoming UHD era.
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