Lumentum highlights next-gen optical networking solutions at OFC

At the Optical Fiber Communication conference (OFC 2019) in San Diego (5–7 March), Lumentum Holdings Inc of Milpitas, CA, USA highlighted its portfolio of next-generation optical communications solutions for telecom, 5G wireless, cable and fiber access, and hyperscale datacenter networks.

Coherent network transmission products

Lumentum showcased its portfolio of high-performance components and modules enabling next-generation, higher-speed, mobile backhaul, data-center interconnect (DCI), metro/regional and long-haul coherent networks. Highly integrated indium phosphide (InP) modulators supporting applications up to 600G and photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based integrated coherent transmit & receive optical sub-assemblies (TROSAs) with up to 64GBaud symbol rate were on display. Also on display were Lumentum’s portfolio of 100G/200G CFP2-ACO and CFP2-DCO coherent pluggable transceiver modules that leverage the firm’s differentiated InP PIC technology. Lumentum is extending its expertise in 10G tunable transmission to 25G; many of the tunable 10G and 25G solutions were on display.

TrueFlex ROADM portfolio

Lumentum’s TrueFlex Twin 8x24 contentionless MxN wavelength-selective switch (WSS) delivers low insertion loss and removes the need for erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) arrays in many network designs. It enables a seamless evolution to next-generation coherent transmission supporting higher baud rates and future multi-carrier transceivers, while WSS passband filtering on both add and drop sides is said to provide superior system performance through the elimination of out-of-band noise. The TrueFlex Twin 8x24 contentionless WSS and other reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM) products in the TrueFlex portfolio were on display at OFC.

High-speed laser chips for 5G front-haul and hyperscale data centers

Lumentum showcased datacom laser chip solutions, including DMLs, EMLs and VCSELs that leverage its laser technology and materials expertise in indium phosphide and gallium arsenide (GaAs) to enable high-performance 5G front-haul and hyperscale data-center transceivers. Lumentum says that its DMLs offer high reliability and use a pioneering cavity design to operate over the wide temperature ranges demanded by the latest 5G wireless systems. The firm’s VCSELs are for short-reach applications and leverage its experience in high-volume 3D sensing applications to deliver cost-effective solutions to data centers and can be supplied as a single bare die, or 1x4 arrays. The firm’s PAM4-optimized EMLs enable next-generation 400G and single-lambda 100G solutions that can reduce the price per bit. Lumentum’s laser chips enable a wide variety of standards-compliant modules for high-speed networking.

Telecom pump lasers

At OFC, Lumentum extended its position in telecom pump lasers by launching new 980nm single-mode pump lasers that enable higher output power and lower power consumption in optical amplification applications. The next-generation family of 980nm pumps offer a range of maximum output powers of 800-1000mW in a variety of form-factor packages. The firm’s wide range of high-power 980nm and Raman pump lasers were also on display.

SDN open networking platform

Lumentum’s SDN elements platform consists of network-ready optical hardware to meet diverse application needs including those of mobile back-haul, data-center interconnect (DCI), open line system, and ROADM mesh-networking. A complete suite of configurable products, including terminal amplifier, line amplifier, ROADM, transport mux/demux, and optical fiber monitoring are available on this platform for system integrators seeking to rapidly incorporate state-of-the-art hardware into their SDN controller and orchestration layers.

Live demo of single-lambda 100G and 400G 10km data transmission

Lumentum gave a live demonstration of its single-lambda 10km-reach capabilities in 400G and single-lambda 100G transceiver modules employing its latest EMLs. The firm claims to have led the industry in the definition of a standard for 100G-per-wavelength optical transmission over 10km. The 100G Lambda specifications are essential as a building block for 400G modules using four lanes of 100G transmission to provide a cost-effective solution to 10km client-side transmission.

Multi-vendor and open networking interoperability demos

Lumentum is actively supporting and driving interoperability efforts in coherent transmission for metro and long-haul applications as well as high-density, high-speed data-center interconnects. These efforts were on display at OFC in the form of interoperability demos addressing the growing need for multi-vendor network systems.

At OFC, Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and Network Innovation Laboratories (NTT) incorporated Lumentum’s CFP2-ACO and CFP2-DCO coherent pluggable modules. Operating at 200G and 100G respectively, both demonstrations showcased multi-vendor interoperability over an open, flexible line system also provided by Lumentum. Additionally, the Ethernet Alliance hosted an interactive live 10km performance for both a 400G and a single-lambda 100G network spanning several booths including the Lumentum booth.

Tags: Optical communications

Visit: www.lumentum.com