ThreeFive Photonics introduces the world's first single-chip multiwavelength receiver for DWDM.
"Size reduction is extremely important in today s market," said Wouter Deelman, CEO of ThreeFive Photonics. "Argo will be applied mainly in metropolitan networks where network operators typically have to install systems at the premises of business customers. In this environment space is expensive; operators don t want to lease new buildings to install their equipment."
The dramatic reduction in size was realized by monolithic integration of multiple functions on a single chip. Rather than selecting separate components for the functions of the receiver and connecting them via optical fibers, ThreeFive Photonics has built all the necessary functions plus the interconnections between them on a single piece of InP. Argo is ThreeFive Photonics first product and integrates an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), the component that splits or demultiplexes the incoming light beam into multiple wavelengths, with photo detectors that convert the resulting separate beams into electrical signals. ThreeFive Photonics also has the ability to fabricate many other optoelectronic components such as switches and amplifiers and intends to integrate these to create a complete telecommunication subsystem on a single InP chip.
"The current market is very favorable for our technology," explained Deelman. "Optoelectronic integration in InP not only leads to very small systems at lower price levels but it also yields systems that are more robust, require less maintenance and repair, and that consume less power. In some metropolitan areas power consumption is the most critical factor."
"A four-channel Argo multiwavelength receiver reduces the number of components from five to one," said Erik Pennings, Director of Sales and Marketing at ThreeFive Photonics. "The advantages become even larger for a sixteen-channel Argo receiver where the number of components is reduced from seventeen to one. This clearly demonstrates the scalability of integrated optoelectronics and the increasing advantages for larger scale integration."
Availability and pricing
Argo A4D2.5 will be made available to selected customers for testing and evaluation in the second quarter of 2002.
Additional information
Preliminary data sheet:
http://www.35ph.com/products/multiwavelength_receivers (in PDF)
Picture of Argo A4D2.5 in 14-pin butterfly package:
http://www.35ph.com/products/multiwavelength_receivers
E-mail: info@35ph.com
Web site: http://www threefivephotonics.com
