March 20, 2003--Ignis Optics, supplier of pluggable optical transceivers for the optical networking industry, and ASIP, developer of photonic integrated circuits, will combine their technologies in a 40-km demonstration of commercial transceiver technology that will enable a significantly less expensive generation of 10-Gbit/sec optical networking solutions. The demonstration will be shown at the Ignis Optics booth (#2056) at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference next week in Atlanta, GA.
The XFP is an ultra-small 10-Gbit/sec optical transceiver module that was standardized by the XFP Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group to help lower the costs of 10-Gbit/sec optical networking applications. ASIP's electro-absorption modulated laser (EML), the 10T101, is particularly well-suited to XFP packaging technology because it combines the low cost structure of directly modulated lasers (DMLs) with the enhanced optical performance needed to carry 10-Gbit/sec signals over metropolitan-area distances, say ASIP representatives. In addition, ASIP's un-cooled EML design means that the resulting transceiver will have low electrical power consumption, similar to DMLs, and still fit within the ultra-small XFP form factor.
The OFC demonstration features an eye mask margin of greater than 20% on the OC-192/STM-64 optical signal. This margin is significant to systems designers because it simplifies system design, enables engineered links of greater distances, and leads to lower bit error rates, say the companies. The eye mask margin is also significant as it enables high transceiver manufacturing yields, which helps to lower transceiver module costs.
"This EML offers us the opportunity to employ inexpensive drive and control circuits like those we use for DMLs in our XFP modules," explains Mike O'Toole, Ignis Optics's vice president of engineering. "Combining low cost circuits with the ASIP EML's extremely good temperature characteristics in a simple, un-cooled package, provides a good route toward achieving long reaches for XFP transceivers without resorting to expensive external modulation or bulkier form factors. This laser technology works well with our high-volume IO-PKG packaging technology."
"Our Asymmetric TwinGuide [ATG] platform allows us to independently optimize all on-chip optical functions," adds Milind Gokhale, ASIP's co-founder and chief technology officer. "Unlike a traditional EML, where the performance is dictated by the design of the modulator, ASIP's ATG-based EML combines both superior laser and modulator performance, all while operating across an 85 ° C temperature range. This exceptional performance, combined with our high-yield manufacturing processes, allows us to offer world-class EMLs at DML-competitive prices."