13 September 2011

Oclaro unveils high-power 980nm pump lasers with smaller footprint and higher output

Oclaro Inc of San Jose, CA, USA, which makes optical communications and laser components, modules and subsystems, has expanded its pump portfolio with a new high-power 500mW uncooled 980nm pump laser and what is claimed to be an industry-first 2 x 600mW dual chip pump in a single package (to be showcased in booths 1368 & 1370 at the European Conference and Exhibition on Optical Communications (ECOC 2011) in Geneva, Switzerland (19–21 September).

“These new pumps build on Oclaro’s heritage as a leading pump supplier and leverage more than two decades of proven design expertise in the pump industry,” says Robert Blum, director of product marketing for Oclaro’s Photonic Components business unit. “Customers are looking for greener designs that use lower power and come in smaller sizes, and Oclaro is able to meet these needs while also adding more functionality and features,” he adds.

The new 500mW uncooled pump delivers a significantly smaller form factor with a SFF 10-pin butterfly package that can also be used in existing 14-pin slots. With 500mW of kink-free power, the laser delivers what is claimed to be the lowest power consumption of any such pump solution. The pump operates across the entire –5ºC to 75ºC temperature range, and is wavelength stabilized, qualified to Telcordia GR-468-CORE, and RoHS 6/6 compliant.

Oclaro says that the new pump is a viable option to traditional cooled pumps for powers up to 500mW for use in metro, cross-connect, single- or multi-channel applications. It also specifically addresses the growing market demand for SFF single-channel and 40Gb/s per-channel amplifiers with higher power requirements.

The new dual chip pump is designed for dual-stage and mid-stage access amplifiers, reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADM) on-blade and amplifier-based line-cards. It leverages Oclaro’s integration expertise to deliver a smaller form factor by delivering a 1 x 14-pin package that replaces two discrete pumps. The pump features two dynamically independent co-packaged lasers that are individually addressable and stabilized, delivers negligible cross-talk, and offers the full functionality of traditional 14-pin pumps. Besides the form-factor reduction, it also significantly lowers the total module power consumption versus two discrete pumps and enables users to reduce cost through simplified control electronics and reduced component count.

Both new pumps deliver high reliability by featuring the Oclaro OC2 alignment and packaging technology, which has been field proven since 2004. In addition, they enable the pumping of multi-stage amplifiers with lower component count, reduced power consumption, smaller form factor and a lower-cost solution through the use of a single thermo-electric cooler (TEC), says Oclaro.

The pumps are currently sampling to customers, and will be available in volume production later this year.

Tags: Oclaro 980nm pump lasers

Visit: www.ecoc2011.org

Visit: www.oclaro.com