DWDM Lasers, 10Gb/s Transceivers

Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (AOI) has introduced three DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) lasers and two 10 Gb/s XFP pluggable transceivers.

AOI said its new C-band DWDM QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) laser, O-band DWDM analog laser and C-band DWDM box TOSA (transmitter optical subassembly) are all RoHS and Telcordia compliant. The C-band QAM and O-band analog lasers are designed for radio frequency modulation to 1000 MHz.

The new C-band DWDM QAM laser comes in a standard 14-pin butterfly package. According to the company, the QAM laser's key features include output power up to 10 dBm, excellent linearity, low chirp design optimized for 60-km transmission spans, and 100-GHz DWDM C-band coverage.

“MSOs (multiple system operators) are offering advanced services such as high-definition video, digital multicast, switched digital video, video on demand, data and voice services,” said Zulfikar Morbi, PhD, AOI senior product manager. "As analog channels are reclaimed by MSOs over the next few years and with cable plant upgrades to 860 MHz and 1 GHz, we see QAM taking over a larger portion of the CATV spectrum. And, as cable evolves to provide digital unicast services to compete with the FTTx (fiber to the x) players and the Internet as a source for video content, we will see a greater demand for QAM devices at both the head-end and at the network edge."

AOI will offer packaged laser devices on the ITU-T G.694.1 DWDM wavelength spectral grid. The company said it is currently shipping selected wavelengths in volume and full C-band coverage is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2008.

AOI's DWDM analog forward-path lasers come in standard 14-pin butterfly packages for the O-band (near 1310 nm) wavelength range. Key features of the laser include: High optical output power up to 13 dBm, excellent linearity and customized grid wavelengths in the 1310- to 1330-nm range. The company said it can easily be combined with its predistortion circuitry to enhance performance.

"MSOs are evolving from primarily broadcast services to providing a rich mix of individualized services and video content to their customers. As serving groups are becoming smaller we see an uptick in our customers' orders for node products signaling a greater degree of node segmentation. A DWDM multiwavelength system is a technically robust solution that offers a cost-effective way for MSOs to keep up with these demands without expensive upgrades to their fiber infrastructure," Morbi said. "With our deep expertise in laser chip design, AOI can offer customized wavelengths for our customers, the system integrators and equipment manufacturers, to cost-effectively develop multiwavelength transmitters that are compatible with their existing 1310-nm broadcast transmitters."

AOI said it will offer laser diodes at customized wavelengths to its customers based on their network configuration requirements. These lasers can be incorporated with AOI's predistortion technology to offer the highest possible performance in CATV forward-path transmission applications. The company is currently shipping customized wavelengths in volume.

AOI is also offering a C-band DWDM box TOSA in a standard 9-pin package. The laser has a high optical output power, with up to 4-Gb/s data rates. It provides 100-GHz DWDM C-band coverage and has a laser chip designed for up to 180-km reach. An extended temperature range from -40 to 85 ºC is optional.

"The TOSA was developed for SFF (small form factor) and SFP (small form factor pluggable) transceiver manufacturers. The TOSA's high optical efficiency, low power consumption and small size provide the industry with a high performance optical product for demanding applications," said Casey Whitelaw, application engineer for AOI.

The box TOSA will be available in an LC-connector package or in a fiber-pigtailed style package. AOI is currently shipping engineering samples at selected wavelengths and full C-band coverage is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2008, the company said.

AOI has also introduced two new 10 Gb/s XFP pluggable transceivers, a 1310-nm 10-km version and a 1550-nm 40-km. The transceivers operate up to 11.1 Gb/s and are designed to meet the operating temperature range from -5 to 70 °C.

Features and advantages:

Hot-pluggable
10 GbE, OC-192/STM-64 SONET/SDH
10x Fibre Channel applications
Compliant with XFP multisource agreement v. 4.5
Digital diagnostic monitoring
LC duplex connector
1310-nm directly modulated laser with PIN for 10 km
1550-nm cooled EML with PIN for 40 km
Meets GR 468 reliability specifications

"Our customers have been expecting these new products from AOI," said Chau-Hong Kuo, PhD, product manager of AOI transceiver products, "AOI has uniquely positioned itself to be a solution provider in the access markets and these 10-G XFP modules are a natural progression of our SFF, SFP and GBIC transceiver product lines."

AOI said it is currently shipping engineering samples to customers and volume shipments are expected by the end of the second quarter.

For more information, visit: www.ao-inc.com; e-mail: [email protected]

Applied Optoelectronics Inc.
13111 Jess Pirtle Blvd.
Sugar Land, TX, 77478
Phone: (281) 295-1800
Fax: (281) 295-1891

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