July 23, 2002--Xtera Communications, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, is adding five patents, which enable all-Raman amplification in long-haul WDM transport systems, to its intellectual property portfolio. The systems company is expanding its Raman amplifier patent portfolio to include United States Patents No. 6,052,393, No. 6,335,820, No. 6,356,384, No. 6,359,725, and No. 6,370,164.
The newly issued patents include breakthroughs in low cost pumping, multi-stage amplification, distributed Raman, discrete Raman, integrated dispersion compensation and transmission over a wide range of wavelengths. Xtera's all-Raman technologies can be used on all fiber types including the most widely installed fiber, standard singlemode fiber as well as non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber.
Xtera's portfolio of patents enables simpler and lower cost methods of wavelength amplification by expanding the usable spectrum in fiber. Combined with Xtera's Raman pumping scheme, communication traffic can be transported using a single "wide reach" amplifier, tripling the number of wavelengths transportable at the same cost, as compared to traditional erbium-doped fiber amplifiers deployed in most legacy networks today. Benefits of Xtera's newly patented Raman technology include higher per channel density, greater transmission distances, broader transmission spectrum and better power loss characteristics.
"These patents follow Xtera's recent award in distributed Raman technology," explains Carl DeWilde, the company's chief operating officer. "These additional patents further strengthen our intellectual property position underpinning the technology built into our all-Raman Nu-Wave DWDM system enabling us to revolutionize the cost points of optical networks."
Xtera Communications, Inc. is based in Allen, Texas. Additional information on Xtera can be found on its Web site at www.xtera.com.