Bandwidth9 Inc. announced the availability of a wavelength locker, essential for stabilizing tunable transmission sources used in fiber-optics infrastructure equipment. Complimentary to the company's tunable laser products, the wavelength locker includes the necessary optical elements to lock optical transmission sources on ITU-standard channel spacings.
Bandwidth9's wavelength locker provides the metro Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) industry with dual-mode locking capabilities by providing exact C-Band and L-Band reference frequencies, as well as the capability to lock on 100GHz ITU grid intervals. Bandwidth9's wavelength lockers will be integrated within its MetroFlex product line, and samples will be available for select customers.
The wavelength locker is precisely designed to operate within the Bandwidth9 MetroFlex module, in conjunction with the company's tunable Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) and transmissions components. By incorporating wavelength lockers, the company's MetroFlex transmission modules tune and completely lock in well under a millisecond. And, by successfully integrating Micro Electric Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based tuning with robust locking capabilities, Bandwidth9's tunable transmission modules offer a reliable, precise, and user-friendly tuning alternative. In addition, Bandwith9's tuning and locker solutions are free from the prohibitively difficult tuning characteristics that plague multi-section edge-emitting approaches, which require complex tuning algorithms and suffer from post-aging drift.
The wavelength locker consists of a fully hermetic package, with a small form factor of approximately 1" x .75" x .5" and is interfaced via a single, inline pin connector, meeting Telcordia specifications. In addition, very little input power (-50dBm) is required, giving additional flexibility to the location of the locker in the overall system architecture. Precise locking to +/- 2.5GHz is accommodated across the entire frequency bands, as well as temperature (0 to 70c.)
With the Bandwidth9 technology, light sources may be tuned and locked precisely on the ITU grid or may be variably offset from the ITU grid. By offering an integrated DWDM metro solution that combines tuning, locking, and modulation functions within one module, Bandwidth9 expects to reduce the cost of high-performance tunable solutions for the metro DWDM market. Prototypes of Bandwidth9's wavelength lockers are available today.
About Bandwidth9, Inc.:
Bandwidth9, a privately held company headquartered in Fremont, California, is a designer and manufacturer of tunable optical transmission components and subsystems for metro telecommunications. The products are based on the company's Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) and optical Micro Electrical Mechanical Structure (MEMS) technologies. For more information, visit www.bw9.com.