Despite the market conditions, component vendors had plenty to say at ECOC

The hybrid integration technology (HIT) platform demonstrated at ECOC by AIFOtec Fiberoptics combines a fiber grating laser (FGL) with a silicon optical bench. The FGL consists of a Fabry-Perot laser chip combined with an external fiber grating. AIFOtec s devices incorporate an integrated spot-size converter, which greatly reduces coupling losses into the fiber. The HIT platform utilizes v-grooves in the silicon bench to hold the fibers and flip-chip bonding to mount the active components. For example, a multi-wavelength array can be assembled by mounting several lasers onto the platform and attaching fibers with different gratings. AIFOtec uses passive alignment techniques and is focusing on automated manufacturing. Although Fabry-Perot laser chips can be manufactured with much higher yield than DFB lasers, one disadvantage of FGLs has been wavelength drift and deteriorating performance over time. AIFOtec has developed a control feedback IC that stabilizes the emission wavelength of the device without using additional optics. Pump lasers Furukawa displayed several high-power 14xx nm pumps, including a 400 mW module, a 600 mW version containing two pump lasers, and a 300 mW Rainbow pump with an integrated fiber Bragg grating. The company has also developed a 980 nm laser in combination with Mitsui, and was showing additional products such as source lasers, VCSELs and transponders. Low power, low cost from Novalux Novalux announced its second suite of products - 980 nm pump lasers with powers of 100 and 200 mW, which are intended for EDFAs in metro optical networks. Products introduced at OFC in March emphasized high power, while the new lasers reflect a shift in market emphasis. Novalux claims that its surface-emitting NECSEL design offers cost-saving features over edge-emitting technology, such as the ability to perform on-wafer testing. The company plan to start shipping beta samples in late October. SOAs hit the mainstream Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), touted as alternatives to EDFAs in short-reach applications, were much in evidence at ECOC. JDS Uniphase introduced an SOA module targeted at the metro market, with a price of under $2000 in volume. Most amplifiers are designed to deliver the performance needed for long-haul applications, whereas metro does not require as much performance and therefore can use a less costly solution. The modules (figure 1) operate over the entire C-band, with a typical gain of 16-20 dB (depending on type) and a saturated output power of 10 dBm. Kamelian s optical linear amplifier Kamelian added another acronym to the industry with its variable-gain optical linear amplifier (OLA). The structure of the InP-based device is similar to an SOA, except it has a DBR section at each end. The design permits linear amplification of multiple wavelengths - conversely, SOAs can only amplify single wavelengths - and also allows variable gain. This latter feature is not available with other linear optical amplifiers, such as the device announced earlier this year by Genoa (see Compound Semiconductor May 2001, p49) - this device is optically pumped by an integrated VCSEL-like structure. According to Kamelian, the OLA offers a cost-effective alternative to EDFAs, particularly in the metro market. "Traditionally, SOAs have been most effective in single-wavelength applications," said Paul May, Kamelian s chief executive officer. "The OLA offers the prospect of multi-channel in-line amplification at a cost which will be very attractive for metro networks, where the use of EDFAs cannot easily be justified." Kamelian s new InP fabrication facility near Oxford, UK, which will manufacture and package SOAs in both single package and multi-channel (OLA) formats, is "close to completion," said staff. 40 Gbit/s products NEL was exhibiting examples of 50 Gbit/s parts manufactured using InP HEMTs, including a d-type flip-flop, a toggle flip-flop, a 2-1 selectro and a 1-2 DEMUX. Samples are expected to be available by the end of the year. Furthermore, the booth also displayed a processed 6 inch GaAs wafer fabricated at the company s new factory near Tokyo, which was completed in July. OpNext demos 40 Gbit/s system A live 2 km transmission experiment using fully functional 40 Gbit/s transmitter and receiver modules was performed by OpNext. The transmitter module contained a 40 Gbit/s semiconductor modulator driven by an InP HBT driver IC, together with a SiGe 4-to-1 multiplexer IC. The receiver contained a photodiode and TIA, an InP post-amplifier, a 40 GHz clock recovery circuit, and a SiGe 1-to-4 demultiplexer IC. "Our customers want our 40 Gbit/s products as soon as possible," said OpNext president and chief executive officer, Harry Bosco. "We are planning to deliver fully integrated samples by Q4 2002."

40 Gbit/s transponder MSA A number of optical component manufacturers - Agere, Agilent, Alcatel Optronics, Ericsson, ExceLight, JDS Uniphase, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC and OpNext - announced a multi-source agreement (MSA) for 40 Gbit/s transponder modules. The design features integrated clock and data recovery and a serializer/deserializer supporting 16 electrical input and output channels in parallel at 2.5 Gbit/s. MSA members believe the fully integrated solution will afford network system suppliers shorter design cycles and allow a significant increase in network capacity. Transponder products are expected on the market in 2003-2005. New recruits for 10 GbE MSA Seven new companies joined the XENPAK MSA group, which also announced revised specs for 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) transceivers. The XENPAK MSA covers all four 10 GbE transceiver types, i.e. serial solutions at 850, 1310 and 1550 nm, together with coarse WDM at 1310 nm. Size is defined as 36 x 121 x 17.4 mm (1.5 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches), which enables eight devices to be mounted on typical line cards. Agilent, a founder member of the MSA group, introduced the 10 GBASE-LR XENPAK transceiver with XAUI interface (figure 2). The 1310 nm transceiver has a range of 10 km and utilizes uncooled, directly modulated lasers. Agilent will ship production volumes in Q3 2002, and expects pricing to fall below $1000 when the 10 GbE market reaches high volume in 2003.