New multiplexers and de-multiplexers from NeoPhotonics

Product Focus

NeoPhotonics Corporation has announced the introduction and initial shipments of new Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) multiplexers and de-multiplexers for high capacity, high baud rate, coherent transmission systems. The new AWGs are based on NeoPhotonics high volume, high reliability Planar Lightwave Circuit platform and offer channel spacings from 75 GHz to 150 GHz and channel counts from 40 to 64 channels. The filter response functions have been designed to be broad and flat over the desired passband in order to support new coherent systems operating in the range from 60 to 128 Gbaud. This new product family consists of multiple designs which are optimised around specific system requirements.

Over the last two decades, AWGs have been a key filtering technology used in Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems to put different wavelength channels on to and off of transmission fibres. An AWG offers much lower cost and many more channels compared to a wavelength-selective switch, and is an ideal wavelength multiplexing and de-multiplexing technology for point-to-point high capacity systems such as datacentre interconnect (DCI). NeoPhotonics is a fully vertically integrated supplier of AWGs with in-house design, wafer fabrication, assembly and test, and has shipped more than half a million AWGs to the market world-wide.

The advent of coherent transmission for telecommunications greatly increases fibre capacity and is particularly useful for DCI applications. However, it imposes a new set of requirements on AWGs that are quite different from those in traditional direct detection systems. By using higher baud rates and higher order modulation coherent transmission the bandwidth of each wavelength channel can be increased to 400 Gbps, 600 Gbps, 800Gbps or higher. However, these channels require more spectral bandwidth, thus reducing the total number of channels achievable when the total available optical spectrum is fixed.

Consequently, an optimum design of the DWDM multiplexer and de-multiplexer channel spacing and filter bandwidth is needed to maximise the fibre capacity. As a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of AWGs, NeoPhotonics works with customers to efficiently modify the filter shape and channel spacing to maximise total fibre capacity, and can rapidly transition new designs to production, providing high volume to support DCI deployments.

“We are pleased to announce initial shipments of our new line of AWGs designed to support our customers’ high baud rate DCI and Telecom coherent transmission systems,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics (pictured). “As an industry leading designer and vertically integrated manufacturer we have been able to respond rapidly to different customer needs and to efficiently meet this emerging market demand,” concluded Jenks.

For more information, visit www.neophotonics.com