Equipment Design Featured Articles

Dispersion compensation technology advances

By Adel Asseh, PhD Overview Combining the power of fiber Bragg gratings with the simplicity of an ordinary patch cord results in a space-saving, cost-effective approach to dispersion compensation....

Engineering DPSK spectral properties enables superior performance through multiple cascaded optical wavelength-selective switches

Wavelength-selective switches (WSS) are crucial elements in a 40G network, but degrade signal quality. Measurements show crosstalk can increase the BER by an order of magnitude, which is equivalent...

Photonic integration diverges down two paths

by Stephen Hardy The need to lower cost, power consumption, and package size has led to significant advancements in photonic integration. Infinera (www.infinera.com) has made the biggest splash in...

Is DP-QPSK the endgame for 100 Gbits/sec?

by Meghan Fuller Hanna The Optical Internetworking Forum (www.oiforum.com) this summer agreed to begin work on a project framework for 100–Gbit/sec long–haul transmission, focusing...

The next future of DWDM: 100 Gbps

by Niall Robinson OVERVIEW With 40 Gbps DWDM now in deployment, carrier and technology developer attention has turned to 100 Gbps. Three key factors will determine the timing of 100-Gbps DWDM...

Passive PICs are key elements in 40- and 100-Gbps systems

by Anthony Ticknor and G. Ferris Lipscomb OVERVIEW The transition to phase-modulated modulation formats for 40 and 100 Gbps puts new demands on passive component technology. Silica-on-silicon...

Internally compensated digital VOA modules improve cost

by Xinzhong Wang and Yao Li OVERVIEW The need to increase integration and standardize interfaces pertains to a variety of modules, including variable optical attenuators (VOAs). New technology can...

Technology advances for SFP+ limiting module designs

by Lian Qin and Ariel Nachum OVERVIEW By using a high-gain 10-Gbps transimpedance amplifier, SFP+ limiting module designers can eliminate the need for a post-amplifier. This advance reduces costs...

The critical role of electronic dispersion compensation in SFP+ applications

by Ahmet Balcioglu, PhD OVERVIEW SFP+ channels are significantly more challenging than those of X2 and XFP LRM modules. To achieve performance margins similar to X2 and XFP modules, SFP+ LRM...

Answers at hand for 100-Gbps test challenges

by Meghan Fuller Hanna Overview It's hard to test phase-modulated signal formats with instruments designed for amplitude modulation. Help for technology developers may finally be on the way,...