Oclaro showcases its pluggable CFP2-DCO at ECOC

Multi-sourcing CFP2-DCO modules, coherent digital signal processor (DSP) partnerships, new laser opportunities and the latest on Lumentum’s acquisition of Oclaro. A conversation with Oclaro’s chief strategy officer, Yves LeMaitre.

Oclaro demonstrated its CFP2 Digital Coherent Optics (CFP2-DCO) pluggable module working with Acacia Communications’ own CFP2-DCO at the recent European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), held in Rome.

Yves LeMaitreOclaro announced earlier this year that it would use Acacia’s Meru coherent DSP for a CFP2-DCO product.

The company also announced at ECOC the availability of a portfolio of single-mode lasers that operate over an extended temperature range.

“We see two new laser opportunities for us,” says LeMaitre. “The upgrade of the access networks and, concurrently, the deployment of 5G.”

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Oclaro uses Acacia’s Meru DSP for its CFP2-DCO

Oclaro will use Acacia Communications’ coherent DSP for its pluggable CFP2 Digital Coherent Optics (CFP2-DCO) module. The module will be compatible with Acacia’s own CFP2-DCO, effectively offering customers a second source. 

Tom Williams This is the first time Acacia is making its coherent DSP technology available to a fellow module maker, says Tom Williams, Acacia’s senior director, marketing.

Acacia benefits from the deal by expanding the market for its technology, while Oclaro gains access to a leading low-power coherent DSP, the Meru, and can bring to market its own CFP2-DCO product. 

Williams says the move was encouraged by customers and that having a second source and achieving interoperability will drive CFP2-DCO market adoption. That said, Acacia is not looking for further module partners. “With two strong suppliers, we don’t see a need to add additional ones,” says Williams.  

“This agreement is a sign that the market is reaching maturity, with suppliers transitioning from grabbing market share at all costs to more rational strategies,” says Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and founder of LightCounting Market Research.

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Lumentum jolts the industry with Oclaro acquisition

Lumentum announced on Monday its plan to acquire Oclaro in a deal worth $1.8 billion.

The prospect of consolidation among optical component players has long been mooted yet the announcement provided the first big news jolt at the OFC show, being held in San Diego this week. 

Alan Lowe“Combined, we will be an industry leader in telecom transmission and transport as well as 3D sensing,” said Alan Lowe, president and CEO of Lumentum, on an analyst call discussing the deal.

Lumentum says their joint revenues totalled $1.7 billion with a 39% gross margin over the last year. And $60 million in synergies are forecast in the second year after the deal closes, which is expected to happen later this year. 

The $1.8 billion acquisition will comprise 56 percent cash and 44 percent Lumentum stock. Lumentum will also raise $550 million to help finance the deal.

“This is a big deal as it consolidates the telecom part of the component market,” says Daryl Inniss, business development manager at OFS Fitel and former market research analyst.

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Oclaro’s 400-gigabit plans

Adam Carter, Oclaro’s chief commercial officer, discusses the company’s 400-gigabit and higher-speed coherent optical transmission plans and the 400-gigabit client-side pluggable opportunity.    

Oclaro showcased its first coherent module that uses Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai digital signal processor at the ECOC show held recently in Gothenburg.

Adam CarterOclaro is one of three optical module makers, the others being Lumentum and NeoPhotonics, that signed an agreement with Ciena earlier this year to use the system vendor’s DSP technology and know-how to bring coherent modules to market. The first product resulting from the collaboration is a 5x7-inch board-mounted module that supports 400-gigabits on a single-wavelength.   

The first WaveLogic Ai-based modules are already being tested at several of Oclaro’s customers’ labs. “They [the module samples] are very preliminary,” says Adam Carter, the chief commercial officer at Oclaro. “The really important timeframe is when we get towards the new year because then we will have beta samples.”

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OIF starts work on a terabit-plus CFP8-ACO module

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has started a new analogue coherent optics (ACO) specification based on the CFP8 pluggable module.

The CFP8 is the latest is a series of optical modules specified by the CFP Multi-Source Agreement and will support the emerging 400 Gigabit Ethernet standard.

Karl GassAn ACO module used for optical transport integrates the optics and driver electronics while the accompanying coherent DSP-ASIC residing on the line card.

Systems vendors can thus use their own DSP-ASIC, or a merchant one if they don’t have an in-house design, while choosing the coherent optics from various module makers. The optics and the DSP-ASIC communicate via a high-speed electrical connector on the line card.

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ECOC '15 Reflections: Part 2

Part 2: More industry executives share the trends and highlights they noted at the recent European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) event, held in Valencia. 

Martin Zirngibl, head of network enabling components and technologies at Bell Labs. 

Silicon Photonics is seeming to gain traction, but traditional component suppliers are still betting on indium phosphide.

There are many new start-ups in silicon photonics, most seem to be going after the 100 gigabit QSFP28 market. However, silicon photonics still needs a ubiquitous high-volume application for the foundry model to be sustainable.

There is a battle between 4x25 Gig CWDM and 100 Gig PAM-4 56 gigabaud, with most people believing that 400 Gig PAM-4 or discrete multi-tone with 100 Gig per lambda will win.

Will coherent make it into black and white applications - up to 80 km - or is there a role for a low-cost wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system with direct detection?

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How Oclaro's CTO keeps on top of the data deluge

Being creative, taking notes, learning and organising data are challenges that all company executives and engineers face. Andy Carter, CTO of Oclaro, is renown for his sketched diagrams and his ability to explain stuff. Gazettabyte asked him to share his experiences and thoughts on the matter.

Andy Carter, CTO

"To be honest, I am an absolutely terrible note-taker. I always have been. At university, I could either listen to a lecture and try and understand it or take notes. I couldn’t do both.

If I did manage to take some notes, I rarely looked at them afterwards or found them useful.

At conferences, in the days of printed outlines, I’d make a few comments in the margins or underline items, but rarely in a separate notebook. 

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