… Optical Thunderbolt Cable Samples by Sumitomo …

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. has commenced sample product shipment of the optical Thunderbolt cable.

These products were used at the Thunderbolt demonstration test to be performed at Intel Corporation‘s booth during the NAB Show 2012 held by the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas from April 16 to 19, 2012.

Thunderbolt is a high-speed PC connection technology developed by Intel. It provides 10Gbps data transmission, and is PCIe and DisplayPort compatible with its dual-protocol solution.

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"Thunderbolt technology is a groundbreaking new high-speed interconnect technology providing 10Gbps connectivity to the PC," said Jason Ziller, Intel’s Thunderbolt marketing director. "We are very excited to have Sumitomo optical Thunderbolt cable sampling in the market to provide much longer cable lengths to the users that need them, such as media creators."

Features of optical Thunderbolt cable include:

• Long-distance connection: The cable is an active optical cable that enables long-distance transmission of optical signals with no signal degradation. Connectors at both ends of the cable convert electric signals into optical signals and vice versa. It employs the same interface as the electrical Thunderbolt cable and can be connected to Thunderbolt ports on PC and peripheral devices. This cable comes in lengths of up to 20 m.
• High flexural strength: The cable is as thin in diameter as the conventional electrical Thunderbolt cable (4.2 mm), and therefore handles just as easily. Furthermore, Sumitomo Electric’s optical fiber makes the cable robust to be used in general consumer devices. This optical fiber will provide high bend performance even when pinched by up to 180° or tangled in knots.

Main specs of optical Thunderbolt cable

• Number of channels: 2
• Transmission speed per channel: 10Gbps bi-directional
• Transmission capacity: 20Gbps bi-directional
• Cable length: 10m and 20m

The optical Thunderbolt cable was used at the Thunderbolt demonstration test at Intel Corporation and Promise Technology, Inc.‘s booth during the NAB Show 2012.