News

25 March 2009

 

Santur announces 10x10Gb/s InP PIC-based 100Gb/s transceiver platform

Santur Corp of Fremont, CA, USA, a vertically integrated manufacturer of tunable lasers for metro and long-haul wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) systems, has announced its Enhanced Photonic Integration Circuit (EPIC), based on its laser array photonic integrated circuit (PIC) platform. The new product family represents an extension of the firm’s parallel array architecture, yielding what is claimed to be a breakthrough approach to 100Gb/s optical transceivers. Santur’s approach to coupling its parallel laser array with a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) creates what is described as an unprecedented level of photonic integration for client optical connectivity and delivers 100Gb/s up to 10km on a single-mode fiber.

Unlike 10x10Gb/s technologies based on ribbons of multi-mode fiber, Santur’s solution operates on a single conventional single-mode fiber (SMF) enabling extended reach. Compared with other 100Gb/s implementations for single-mode fiber optical links, this approach does not require 25Gb/s electronics such as gearbox ICs to convert 10Gb/s data streams to intermediate 25Gb/s lanes, says the firm.

“The growth and popularity of digital media has created a whole new set of challenges and opportunities for communication systems tasked to deliver large files at high bit rates from content libraries,” says CEO Paul Meissner. “Next-generation systems must deliver far more bandwidth with much lower cost per bit than traditional approaches.”

Traditional solutions to this optical connectivity challenge rely on discrete components. For example, solutions that deliver more than 10Gb/s require a four-fold increase in component count to deliver a four-fold increase in bandwidth. Santur says that EPIC can address the simultaneous scaling factors of bandwidth and cost for optical transceivers.

“The need for higher bandwidth on a single fiber is best addressed by innovative integration at the chip and package level compared with discrete implementations,” says Milind Gokhale, VP of technology & development. “Our 100Gb/s architecture for transmission over single-mode fiber is based on high-yielding 10x10Gb/s laser arrays, PLC integration, and robust10Gb/s driver and receiver electronics, enabling the delivery of 10 times increase in bandwidth at a significantly lower cost per bit,” he adds.

Early developers of 100Gb/s systems have relied on Santur’s platform. Last September’s European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2008) in Brussels, Belgium saw the first successful demonstration of 100Gb/s transmission over 10km SMF. At this week’s Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) and National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) in San Diego, CA, USA , Santur and its partners are demonstrating the EPIC platform running over 40km SMF. Santur is also showcasing EPIC-based pluggable transceivers delivering 100Gb/s and 40Gb/s over 10km SMF.
The first transceiver product based on EPIC will ship this spring to early-access partners, with production units scheduled for the end of this year.

Santur integrates tunable lasers with InP modulators for up to 12Gb/s

For applications up to 12Gb/s, Santur has announced the general availability of full C-band tunable transmitters (TLMZ), which contain the firm’s distributed feedback (DFB) laser array coupled with its indium phosphide-based Mach-Zehnder modulator through Santur’s proven MEMS technology. Telcordia qualification has been completed and production has begun. The transmitter’s scalable design enables the rapid migration of traditional designs based on continuous wave (CW) lasers and discrete lithium niobate modulators to the smaller and more cost-effective TLMZ, says Santur.

With a focus on integration, the TLMZ offers 45% less footprint and 30% lower power dissipation while delivering performance equivalent to discrete solutions based on tunable CW lasers and discrete small-form-factor lithium niobate modulators, says Santur. Commercial deployment of the modulator integrated with the firm’s flagship tunable laser represents a milestone on Santur’s product roadmap to deliver compact tunable transmitters to the market, says Milind Gokhale, VP of technology & development.

Santur is supplying devices rated up to 4dBm optical power with both zero and negative chirp modulators and available in either butterfly or module form factors. “These devices enable rapid adoption of tunability in metro markets,” says CEO Paul Meissner, “In addition to providing the standard pre-calibrated modules with electronics, the simplicity of our tunable laser technology also allows our customers to buy at the lower-cost butterfly level,” he adds. The solutions enable system integrators to increase density while maintaining the performance needs of the network, the firm claims.

See related items:

Santur ships 200,000th widely tunable laser

Santur gives live demo of InP-based 100Gb/s PIC technology

Search: Santur PIC InP Tunable lasers InP modulators

Visit: www.santurcorp.com