Oclaro delivers intra-node amplifiers for next-gen ROADM architectures

Optical components vendor Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) has introduced what it claims is the industry’s first family of amplifiers aimed at offsetting losses inside the nodes of next-generation ROADM network architectures that will carry 100 Gbps, 400 Gbps, and 1 Tbps channels.

Next-generation high-speed optical networks will bring increased agility and asset utilization through architectures that enable high degrees of colorless, directionless, and contentionless routing of wavelengths in the optical domain, says Oclaro. These increased demands on optical routing and connectivity within the node are creating losses that affect the overall network performance and can lead to significant limitations in the size of the optical network that can be supported without regeneration. Oclaro’s new amplifiers aim to maximize the overall network performance while also meeting the stringent space and power constraints of next-generation node designs.

“Oclaro continues to deliver the technology innovation for the core optical network that will help drive the growth of the 100 Gbps market, which we expect to be a nearly $2 billion market by 2016,” said Daryl Inniss, vice president and practice leader of telecoms components at Ovum. “These higher bit rate networks have become increasingly complex as manufacturers continue to add more features while expanding the capacity. Such complexity results in higher node losses, which limit the network performance and may prevent installation on existing fiber plants. We think these amplifiers will be important tools to offset these higher losses while fitting onto the very dense line cards that we see today.”

By using Oclaro’s new intra-node amplifiers, network equipment manufacturers can maintain network performance and enable installation on existing fiber plants while minimizing footprint, power consumption, and heat dissipation, the company says.

Oclaro’s new family of intra-node amplifiers uses the company’s recently announced, uncooled compact pumps and dual-chip 980-nm pump lasers. The uncooled 980-nm pumps offer up to 500 mW of output power from a 10-pin butterfly package. The dual-chip pumps come in a single 14-pin package that replaces two 600-mW discrete pumps, which significantly lowers the total power consumption. These pump lasers enable simplified control electronics and reduced component count, while also reducing the space and power required by the optical amplifiers.

The first two members of the OASIS Intra-Node Amplifier family are a small form factor single-channel amplifier and a compact arrayed multi-channel amplifier. Oclaro says they are built on its proven OASIS amplifier platform, which has been deployed in volume with customers globally.

The single-channel amplifier is a very-small form factor booster or pre-amplifier designed specifically for transponder applications. Pre-amplifier features include expanded input power ranges and ultrafast optical transient control, which enhance the robustness and performance of high bit rate direct-detection and coherent receivers. Booster amplifiers are optimized for single-wavelength amplification of amplitude and/or phase modulated signals.

The arrayed amplifier is a space- and power-efficient amplifier targeted at offsetting losses of multiple parallel connections in add/drop cards or between line interface cards.