3SP Group intros high-power 980 nm pump modules

Pump laser specialist 3SP Group plans to launch what it asserts is the industry’s most powerful 980-nm pump laser module at OFC 2014 in San Francisco, CA, March 11-13.

3SPGroup says it has leveraged its technological expertise to build a new generation of ultra-high-power pumps for terrestrial applications that will form the cornerstone for next-generation optical amplifiers.

The operating power (Pop) of the 2000 CHP Series of pump modules has been extended up to 950 mW ex-fiber (1045 mW kink-free power) while maintaining a low operating current, creating what 3SP Group claims is the world’s most powerful 980-nm singlemode pump module product family for telecom applications.

The company says the 2000 CHP modules with 950=mW output represent a significant step forward for the design of next-generation network amplifiers by enabling higher output power for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), reducing component count and lowering cost and power dissipation, while allowing extended spans and an improved noise figure performance.

The pump module incorporates a new gallium-arsenide laser chip based upon 3SPGroup’s submarine-qualified technology. The proprietary design offers more output power with similar levels of operating current and reliability, the company asserts.

This laser chip, made in 3SP Group in Nozay, France, is packaged in an industry-standard, hermetically sealed 14-pin cooled butterfly package and wavelength locked by a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) integrated into the fiber pigtail. The resulting 2000 CHP module offers stable performance over a wide dynamic range.

“The new 2000 CHP Series of pump modules represents a technological breakthrough and it will be a key component for the next-generation of powerful and cost-effective EDFAs which require highly reliable pump lasers with ultra-high output power in order to support the increasing technical requirements and constraints of optical networks,” said Jean-Michel Bonard, vice president of sales and marketing at 3SP Group. “Ultra-high-power pumps provide a significant cost and real-estate reduction to EDFAs by reducing the quantity of pumps.”

The 950-mW Pop 2000 CHP is RoHS 6/6 compliant and Telcordia GR-468-CORE qualified. Product samples are already available and are currently being evaluated by customers while general availability is scheduled for June 2014.

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