January 18, 2006 Tokyo, Japan -- Optical manufacturers including Avanex, CyOptics, Eudyna Devices, Mitsubishi Electric, Oki Electric Industry, Opnext, and Sumitomo Electric Industries have announced the release of new common specifications for optical devices with SC connectors as interfaces compliant with the 10-Gbit/sec Miniature Device Multi-Source Agreement (XMD-MSA) standard. The new specifications detail applications pertaining to transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) and receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) devices embedded into 10-Gbit/sec XFP modules.
According to a press release, the specifications for interchangeable TOSA/ROSA devices include: common mechanical dimensions including specifying the optical connector interface that determines the design of 10-Gbit/sec pluggable modules' optical heads; common electrical interface standards and the method to connect into pluggable module circuits using flexible printed circuits (FPC); and common optical and electrical characteristics.
The specifications encompass all 10-Gbit/sec pluggable modules including XFP, XENPAK, X2, and XPAK varieties, and are designed for applications serving short-to-long reach transmission functions. The specifications comply with interface standards including 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 10-Gbit Fiber Channel, and SONET OC-192, and support the use of optical devices from multiple suppliers.