Avanex and Vertilas target ECOC attendees
Attendees at this week's European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) in Cannes, France, will find a range of new laser products being offered by Avanex and Vertilas.
Fremont-based Avanex has introduced two products based on its "PowerIntense" 980 nm laser chips. One of these, a new submarine pump laser emitting 400 mW, is said to be the highest-power source available for such applications.
Avanex has also released singlemode pump laser diodes that produce 2.5 W when operating at 25 °C, a figure that drops to 1.4 W at the elevated temperature of 75 °C. These are targeted for use in amplifier modules for both metropolitan and long-haul applications.
According to the company, the new products result from continued investment in the development of submarine components, despite the enduring downturn in the long-haul optical networking business following the economic bubble of 2000.
Now seeing renewed opportunities in this particular sector, Avanex CTO Giovanni Barbarossa said, "These lasers exceed the reliability and performance requirements of the submarine market, allowing us the opportunity to have substantial participation in the coming market for undersea optical repeaters."
Meanwhile, Germany-based long-wavelength VCSEL maker Vertilas is trying to turn heads at ECOC with its singlemode 1310 nm and 1550 nm VCSELs operating at up to 10 Gb/s.
Vertilas CEO Christian Neumeyr explained, "In the last few years we have launched a range of VCSEL products - mostly for high-performance spectroscopy."
"It was now the right time to take our VCSEL technology one step further, and develop a 1310 nm laser for communications."
Vertilas has also scored a supply deal with MergeOptics, another German company, with full qualification and a production ramp slated for the second half of 2007.
"The laser component has enabled MergeOptics to develop next-generation SFP+ modules that provide 10 Gb/s performance and power dissipation of less than 1 W," said Vertilas.
"Both companies will extend their collaboration to qualify and launch next-generation modules based on Vertilas technology."
