Oclaro sampling 400G, 600G InP 64 GBaud optical components

Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) says it has begun sampling a range of 64-GBaud optical components suitable for applications that require 400- or 600-Gbps optical transmission. The portfolio includes a 64-GBaud micro-intradyne coherent receiver (micro-ICR), a 64-GBaud integrated coherent transmitter (ICT), a 64-GBaud high-bandwidth co-packaged driver modulator (HB-CDM), as well as a high-bandwidth LiNbO₃ polarization-multiplexed quadrature Mach-Zehnder (PM-QMZ) modulator and a 100-kHz micro-integrated tunable laser assembly (micro-ITLA).

The company sees the devices as suitable to support a wide range of fiber-optic network applications, including long-haul, regional, metro, and data center interconnect. Oclaro expects the optical components to reach volume production by the end of this year; the LiNbO₃ PM-QMZ modulator has already achieved this milestone. The company introduced the products last September in conjunction with ECOC 2017 (see "Oclaro introduces photonic ICTs and ICRs for 400G and 600G applications").

Details of the components include:

• The micro-ITLA complies with the OIF micro-ITLA Implementation Agreement. Oclaro says use of the company's thermally tuned DS-DBR laser technology enables a significant reduction in low frequency phase noise and linewidth while increasing optical output power to above +17 dBm.
• The HB-CDM complies with the OIF HB-CDM Implementation Agreement. It combines a high-bandwidth InP PM-QMZ modulator chip with a co-packaged matched RF driver. Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) integrated within the InP modulator chip enable flexible optical power and high linearity, Oclaro says.
• The 64-GBaud+ ICT combines a narrow line-width laser with a PM-QMZ Mach Zehnder modulator to support multiple baud rates up to 64-GBaud and 64-QAM modulation. The device thus supports transmission from 100 to 600 Gbps. Built-in SOAs, a tunable filter, and a polarization multiplexer eliminate the need for external optical components, simplify assembly, and enable operation in colorless networks, Oclaro says. The ICT provides a local oscillator output with +12-dBm EOL power for a mated coherent receiver.
• The 64-Gbaud+ ICR supports data rates from 100 to 600G and beyond, says Oclaro. It supports baud rates up to 64-GBaud with modulation schemes such as 64-QAM. The 64-GBaud ICR has an integrated monitor photodiode and variable optical attenuator to support single-channel and multichannel applications in colorless networks. It is compliant with the form factor specified in the OIF Implementation Agreement OIF-DPC-MRX-01.0
• Oclaro says the 64-GBaud ICR offers almost twice the bandwidth of 32-Gbaud parts without a change in responsivity. The 64-GBaud ICT-ICR pair thus can maximize link budgets in both existing and greenfield networks while doubling the capacity per channel, the company asserts. The ICT-ICR are packaged in a way that makes them suitable for the stringent size requirements on next-generation high-density 600G platforms, Oclaro adds.

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