EpiPhotonics has announced development of new low-loss electro-optic (Pb,LA)(ZrTi)O3 (PLZT) waveguides for nanosecond-speed optical switching.
The new buried PLZT waveguides exhibit loss figures “below 1 dB/cm” versus the company’s previous PLZT waveguides (see “EpiPhotonics to unveil integrated 4x4 and 1x16 optical switches”). The PLZT waveguide size is in the range from 1 cm to 2 cm; the new loss figures now make them compared to other options, EpiPhotonics asserts. Minimum fiber to fiber insertion losses are 4 dB for a 1x8 switch and 5 dB for a 4x4 switch, the company says.
Switches based on the new PLZT waveguides should begin shipping in Spring 2012, EpiPhotonics says. The switches, with high-speed driver electronics, will come in 1x1, 1x2, 1x4, 1x8, 1x16, 2x2, and 4x4 port configurations. The devices should be applicable for optical packet switching, optical burst switching, and other optical network applications.
EpiPhotonics plans to display the newly developed PLZT optical switches at Photonics West 2012 in San Francisco and OFC 2012 in Los Angeles.
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