23 January 2012

Oclaro samples 20G VCSEL; ships more than 500,000 10G VCSELs

Optical component, module and subsystem maker Oclaro Inc of San Jose, CA, USA says that it is now sampling a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) operating at a data rate of 20Gb/s.

Having shipped well over 100 million VCSELs (including more than 500,000 10G VCSELs in the last year alone), Oclaro reckons that it is currently the world's largest supplier of VCSELs. Its products have been designed into high-volume consumer electronics products such as notebook computers, optical cables, optical mice and smart phones.

VCSELs can be used to connect electronic devices such as peripherals, workstations, displays, disk drives and docking stations, e.g. allowing data transfer between a notebook computer and another computer or the transfer of video content such as movies from a computer onto a high-definition (HD) TV. Because VCSELs are extremely reliable and can meet the stringent requirements of consumer devices, they are rapidly being adopted in all areas of consumer electronics. Oclaro claims that it has secured the volume leadership position in this market by leveraging its expertise in optical laser technology and reliability and its ability to quickly achieve the high-volume production capacities needed for consumer products.

The firm says that, by continuing to offer new VCSEL solutions that deliver higher data rates, it can enable users to develop faster-performing products at better price/performance points. “Just as we are continually addressing the increased bandwidth requirements of the core optical network, we are also committed to meeting the demands of the consumer industry by enabling customers to increase the data transfer rates between various devices such as computers, disk drives or HD TVs,” says Karlheinz Gulden, senior director product management. “With the introduction of reliable 20G VCSELs, Oclaro is helping its customers to double the bandwidth over existing solutions and be first to market with higher-performing next-generation consumer devices,” he adds.

The new 20G VCSELs are particularly suited to address the growing 16G Fiber Channel transceiver market, which is starting to ramp this year.

Oclaro is showcasing its family of VCSELs in booth 1101 at SPIE Photonics West 2012 show in San Francisco (24–26 January).

Tags: Oclaro VCSELs

Visit: www.oclaro.com