Mindspeed launches PMD product to streamline design and testing of PON equipment/US Conec develops PRIZM LightTurn connector
MARCH 25, 2010 — Mindspeed Technologies Inc., a supplier of semiconductor solutions for network infrastructure applications, extended its family of physical media devices (PMDs).
The company’s PMDs are designed to reduce component count, while streamlining the development and testing of ONTs used to deliver FTTx multi-play services via fiber-access networks using Gigabit Ethernet passive optical network (GEPON) and Gigabit PON (GPON) technology.
Mindspeed’s M02098 programmable burst-mode laser driver includes an integrated limiting amplifier, analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
Mindspeed is showcasing the M02098 driver along with its optical PMD family at OFC/NFOEC 2010, in the company’s private suite #2648 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.
The M02098 driver incorporates the company’s dual closed-loop Eye-Minder technology for real-time monitoring and compensation for laser aging and temperature effects to reduce production testing requirements and lower overall ONT system costs. The M02098 driver can be implemented in a small form factor (SFF) or small form factor pluggable (SFP) optical transceiver or with a bi-directional optical sub-assembly (BOSA) that can be mounted directly onto the ONT board.
MARCH 28, 2010 — US Conec has announced the immediate availability of its PRIZM LightTurn connector for photonic turn parallel optic interconnect. Designed as a miniature detachable connector for Avago Technologies’ new MicroPOD 120-Gbps board-mounted parallel optic modules (see “Avago Technologies unveils miniature embedded parallel optics modules”), the PRIZM LightTurn connector provides passive alignment and retention features that enable multiple re-matings perpendicular to the printed circuit board.
The 7.4×5.7-mm PRIZM LightTurn connector consists of a multi-fiber ferrule with a photonic turn TIR lens array accepting cleaved fibers and a single outer housing. The termination is simple and low cost, says US Conec; it requires no polishing of fibers and is easy to test, the company adds.
The use of the PRIZM LightTurn connector in combination with US Conec’s MTP brand MPO style connector provides a significant increase in card edge port density compared to using SFP transceivers, conventional array transceivers, or parallel active optical cables on the card edge, the company asserts. The connector is designed for use across multiple applications including telecom, datacom, and the emerging high speed computing markets.
US Conec will sell components to cable assembly makers, as well as provide the necessary training and support worldwide to enable multiple sources to equipment and systems makers.
