Chromis Fiberoptics

Chromis Fiberoptics is the leading provider of Graded-Index Polymer Optical Fiber (GI-POF) Active Optical Cables (AOCs) for high-speed data transmission in digital signage, commercial and residential audio/video, mobile computing, consumer electronics and data center applications. An AOC has the same electrical inputs as a traditional copper cable, but uses optical fiber for high-speed data transmission "between the connectors". The connectors perform electrical-to-optical conversion at the source and then reverse it at the destination. For more than 30 years, explosive growth in data transmission rates has been driving the displacement of copper wire - which is reaching its physical and technical performance limits - in favor of optical fiber for high-speed connections over increasingly shorter distances. Chromis GI-POF AOC technology enables optical performance at the cost of copper. Chromis began as the POF research team at Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories in 1996. In 2001, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. bought Lucent's Optical Fiber Solutions business and we became part of the new majority-owned subsidiary called OFS. By 2003, we had developed and patented a unique extrusion process for low-cost, high-volume manufacturing of GI-POF. In June 2004, the POF research team leadership concluded a management buyout of the OFS POF business to form Chromis Fiberoptics.