Oclaro says 100G PAM4 EA-DFB EML chips for next-gen optical transceivers are available

March 8, 2018

Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) has announced "general market availability" of its 100G PAM4 EA-DFB EML chips for next-generation optical transceiver applications. An Oclaro source says the company is in position to deliver samples now, as well as deliver higher quantities once customers qualify the chips. The EMLs operate at 53 Gbaud with up to 40-GHz bandwidth (at 20°C) and 6-dB extinction ratio (at 70°C).

Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) has announced "general market availability" of its 100G PAM4 EA-DFB EML chips for next-generation optical transceiverapplications. An Oclaro source says the company is in position to deliver samples now, as well as deliver higher quantities once customers qualify the chips. The EMLs operate at 53 Gbaud with up to 40-GHz bandwidth (at 20°C) and 6-dB extinction ratio (at 70°C).

The EML chips are well-suited for use in pulse amplitude modulation-based (PAM4) transceivers, and enable 100 Gbps per wavelength, the company says. According to Oclaro, its EML chips set the stage for the next generation of 200 Gbps and 400 Gbps in data center networks with a combination of high-performance and low power consumption.

Additionally, Oclaro announced wafer fab capacity upgrades for DML and EML laser production to increase availability of its components. Oclaro says it will be able to meet the growing need for high-speed, cost-effective optical transceivers with this newly installed production capacity.

For the past two years, Oclaro's high-speed 25G DML chips have been produced in high volume. Ideal for 100-Gbps CWDM4transceivers, says Oclaro, the DML chips can also be used in affordable SFP28 modules and other 25-Gbps products for high-volume applications. The EMLs deliver the high bandwidth and linearity required for next-generation 200-Gbps and 400-Gbps transceivers using PAM4, without compromising small size and low cost, the company adds.

Oclaro says its laser chips support CWDM4 and LAN-WDM wavelength standards. Uncooled operation and non-hermetic packaging can be used for cost-effective, high-performance modules in many applications, including PAM4 transceivers for higher data rates.

"Oclaro's proven laser technology has been the benchmark for high-performance and reliability, and is ideally suited to support the PAM4 modulation formats used to deliver higher-speed networks affordably," said Yves LeMaitre, Oclaro's chief strategy officer. "With the explosive growth of large-scale data centers, the demand for these lasers has never been greater and by increasing our manufacturing capacity, Oclaro can ensure its customers have the supply they need to be successful."

Along with sampling its 100G PAM4 EA-DFB EML chips, Oclaro says it continues to focus on its module work, developing digital coherent optics (DCO) and PAM4-enabled QSFP56-DD 400 Gigabit Ethernet devices, both of which should be on display at OFC 2018 in San Diego next week (see "Oclaro: Out with QSFP28 CWDM4, in with coherent DCO, 400G modules").

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