ECOC 2012 summary - Part 1: Oclaro

Gazettabyte completes its summary of key optical announcements at the recent ECOC show held in Amsterdam. Oclaro's announcements detailed here are followed by those of Finisar and NeoPhotonics.

Part 1: Oclaro

 

"Networks are getting more complex and you need automation so that they are more foolproof and more efficient operationally"

Per Hansen, Oclaro

Oclaro made several announcements at ECOC included an 8-port flexible-grid optical channel monitor, a new small form factor pump laser MSA and its first CFP2 module. The company also gave an update regarding its 100 Gigabit coherent optical transmission module as well as the company's status following Oclaro's merger with Opnext (see below).

The 8-port flexible grid optical channel monitor (OCM) is to address emerging, more demanding requirements of optical networks. "Networks are getting more complex and you need automation so that they are more foolproof and more efficient operationally," says Per Hansen, vice president of product marketing, optical networks solutions at Oclaro.

The 8-port device can monitor up to eight fibres, for example the input and seven output ports of a wavelength-selective switch or an amplifier's outputs.

The programmable OCM can do more than simply go from fibre to fibre, measuring the spectrum. The OCM can dwell on particular ports, or monitor a wavelength on particular ports when the system is adjusting or turning up a wavelength, for example.

"There is processing power included such that you can do a lot of data processing which can then be exported to the line card in the format required," says Hansen. This is important as operators start to adopt flexible-grid network architectures. "[With flexible-grid spectrum] you don't know where channels stop and start such that an OCM that looks at fixed slots in no longer enough," says Hansen.

The OCM can monitor bands finer than 6.25GHz through to the spectrum across the complete C-band.

Oclaro also detailed that its OMT-100 coherent 100 Gigabit optical module is entering volume production. "We have shipped well over 100 [units] to various customers," says Hansen. "There are a lot of system houses looking at this type of module this year."  The OMT-100 was developed by Opnext and replaces Oclaro's own MI 8000XM 100 Gigabit module

The company also announced its first 100 Gigabit CFP2 module and its second-generation CFP module 16W power consumption that support the IEEE 100GBASE-LR4 10km standard.

A new small form factor multi-source agreement (MSA) for pump laser diodes was also announced at the show, involving Oclaro and 3S Photonics.

The 10-pin butterfly package is designed to replace the existing 14-pin design. "It is 75% smaller in volume - about two-thirds in each dimension," says Robert Blum, director of product marketing for Oclaro's photonic components. The MSA supports a single cooled or uncooled pump laser, and its smaller volume enables more integrated amplifier designs.

Oclaro says other companies have expressed interest in the MSA and it expects additional players to join. 

The New Oclaro

Source: Ovum

Oclaro also gave an update of the company's status following the merger with Opnext earlier this year. The now 3,000-strong company has estimated annual revenues of US $800m. This places the optical component company second only to Finisar.

The merger has broadened the company's product line, adding Opnext's strength in datacom pluggable transceivers to Oclaro's core networking products. The company is also more vertically integrated, using its optical components such as tunable laser and VCSEL technologies, modulators and receivers within its line-side transponders and pluggable optical transceivers.

"You can drive technologies in different directions and not just be out there buying components and throwing them together," says Hansen.

The company also has a range of laser diodes for industrial and consumer applications. "We [Oclaro] were already the largest merchant supplier of high-power laser diodes but now we have a complete portfolio that covers all the wavelengths from 400 up to 1500nm," says Blum.

The company has a broad range of technologies that include indium phosphide, gallium arsenide, lithium niobate, MEMS, liquid crystal and gallium nitride.

An extra business unit has also been created. To the existing optical networks solutions and the photonic components businesses there is now the modules and devices unit covering pluggable and high-speed client side transceivers, and which is based in Japan.