3 March 2012

Oclaro’s new tunable 100G DWDM CFP transceiver boosts spectral efficiency by 2.5x

In booths #1957 & 2058 at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC 2012) in Los Angeles (6-8 March), Oclaro Inc of San Jose, CA, USA is unveiling a cost-efficient tunable DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) pluggable transceiver module that uses 4x28G wavelengths to deliver a 2.5 times improvement in spectral efficiency over competing 10G solutions, it is claimed.

Spectral efficiency (the amount of optical spectrum required to transmit at a given data rate) has become increasingly important in metro, point-to-point and data-center applications where high-capacity network links are needed for reaches up to 600km. Oclaro says that its new tunable CFP transceiver not only provides the performance boost needed in spectral efficiency, but also meets the low-cost and power-consumption requirements of these applications.

The new transceiver is based on a direct-detection ODB (optical duobinary) modulation format that complements Oclaro’s line of 100G coherent transponder solutions. Direct detection, which uses standard low-cost components, delivers significant reductions in cost and power consumption and is suited to address the needs of the growing 100G metro and long-haul markets. Oclaro reckons that, with solutions for both formats, it is well positioned in the exploding 100G DWDM market, which analyst firm Ovum expects will grow beyond $1bn for the line-side alone by 2014.

“By delivering an expansive line of 100G solutions for the core optical network, Oclaro is able to meet the evolving needs of our customers when it comes to cost, performance, spectral efficiency, and power consumption,” claims Jim Haynes, president & general manager of the Oclaro Photonic Components business unit. “Many of our customers are managing legacy networks alongside new 100G systems, and they can rely on Oclaro to help them continually maintain a competitive lead in the market with a broad set of products across multiple modulation schemes,” he adds.

The new module is claimed to be the first tunable 100G DWDM CFP transceiver, and represents an alternative to coherent 168-pin MSA transponders to address less demanding shorter-reach applications in a more cost-efficient manner. The new transceiver is available as a grid-tunable solution and as a fully tunable solution for maximum flexibility. Oclaro is also planning to offer MLSE (maximum likelihood sequence estimation) on the receiver as a configuration option to enhance the performance of the module by extending chromatic dispersion (CD) tolerance and widening the input range of the receiver. The transceiver incorporates key technologies from Oclaro’s established product lines such as the ILMZ (integrated laser Mach-Zehnder) used in the T-XFP products.

Oclaro plans to sample key customers in mid-2012, with a production launch scheduled for the end of 2012.

Tags: Oclaro DWDM CFP transceiver

Visit: www.oclaro.com