DiCon Fiberoptics Inc. introduces an ultracompact 1-CH MEMS ROADM (reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer). This unique product demonstrates the strength of DiCon's fiber-optic MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) capability and the company's commitment to delivering cost-effective wavelength management solutions for tomorrow's reconfigurable optical network.

Packaged in the same 25 mm x 16 mm x 8.5 mm rectangular housing as DiCon's MEMS switch components, the 1-CH MEMS ROADM has the smallest form factor on the market. With insertion loss less than 0.9 dB for the CWDM (coarse wavelength division multiplexing) version, it offers industry-leading performance. DiCon's MEMS technology offers proven reliability and durability.

In long-term toggling tests, DiCon's MEMS chips continue to operate perfectly beyond 3 billion cycles. The 1-CH MEMS ROADM is based on proprietary thin-film coating and MEMS technologies. A MEMS mirror is combined with a customized thin-film filter to form a component that demultiplexes a fixed wavelength, provides add/drop switching, and then multiplexes that wavelength back with the rest of the channels. This innovative device has 6 ports.

All traffic enters and leaves through the "input" and "output" ports. The two reconfigurable "add" and "drop" ports are used for the selected wavelength while the "express-out" and "express-in" ports allow for the exit and entry of nonselected channels. The express ports also provide the option to add/drop multiple channels at a node by cascading components of different wavelengths.

It was developed for both commercial and military/defense markets, where reliability, size, weight, power consumption and customization flexibility are also important requirements.  It will be on display at the show.

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