Bookham Tunable Laser Assembly Selected to Support 40Gb/s DWDM Systems
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Single iTLA now proven to support all data rates up to 40Gb/s
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 15 // -- Bookham, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKHM), a leading provider of optical components, modules and subsystems, today announced that its LambdaFLEX(TM) integrable Tunable Laser Assembly (iTLA) has been selected by equipment vendors to support 40Gb/s DWDM transmission systems. The iTLA offers equipment vendors a cost-effective, single product to cover all data rates up to 40Gb/s.
The iTLA, which has already been extensively deployed in systems supporting 10Gb/s and below, has now been selected for use in 40Gb/s transmission systems, including the Mintera MI 40000XS next-generation subsystem for DWDM optical transport in metro, regional and ultra long-haul telecom networks. Mintera is currently shipping the MI 40000XS platform to customers worldwide.
"The Bookham iTLA has proved extremely effective in our next-generation 40Gb/s DWDM optical transmission systems," said Bryan Siegal, VP Operations and Customer Satisfaction at Mintera. "We are very satisfied with the optical performance of the Bookham iTLA. It has provided us with a reliable, high performance laser source. The product's mechanical design means that it is easy to assemble, requiring no additional parts, thereby reducing the bill of materials. The full C band coverage has simplified our planning and inventory requirements."
Commenting on the announcement, Jon White, product line manager for tunable sources at Bookham, said: "The Bookham iTLA has been designed to be a common base technology to enable bit rates up to and through 40Gb/s. This approach has enabled us to provide a very cost-effective solution for our higher bit rate customers without the need for further design changes. We are seeing significant market penetration with our tunable portfolio and we continue to demonstrate our capability to enable our customers' next-generation network architectures through qualified leading-edge technology and a high volume manufacturing capability."
Differentiated by its fast tuning speed to enable reconfigurable network features, the iTLA is fully-qualified and in volume production at the company's manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China. Based on the OIF MSA outline, the full-band tunable laser is supplied in module form, with control electronics and firmware, to enable customers to integrate the assembly with their systems quickly and economically. The product provides a number of market-leading functions, such as narrow line width, internal frequency dither generation, direct input path for transmitter trace tone functionality, dark tuning, field programmable firmware, adjustable power and full C or L band coverage. Bookham is also able to offer custom iTLA designs by leveraging its vertical integration capability.
Unlike many competing technologies, the Bookham tunable laser is built on a single InP optical chip, the DS-DBR, with no moving parts -- a design that is protected by US patent (US7145923). This enables extremely fast wavelength tuning with excellent reliability, comparable to that offered by legacy DFB lasers. It also brings cost-effective wideband tunability to all optical transport applications.
About Bookham
Bookham, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKHM) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of optical components, modules and subsystems. The company's optical components, modules and subsystems are used in various applications and industries, including telecommunications, data communications, aerospace, industrial and military. Since 2002, the company has acquired the optical components businesses from Nortel Networks and Marconi, as well as Ignis Optics, Inc., the business of Cierra Photonics Inc., New Focus, Inc., and Onetta, Inc. The company has manufacturing facilities in the UK, US, Canada, China and Switzerland; and offices in the US, UK, Canada, France and Italy and employs approximately 2000 people worldwide.
More information on Bookham, Inc. is available at http://bookham.com/
Bookham and all other Bookham, Inc. product names and slogans are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bookham, Inc. in the USA or other countries.
About Mintera
Mintera is a global technology leader enabling migration to 40 Gbps optical transport in metro-core, regional, long-haul, and ultra long-haul networks. Mintera's flexible multi-service 40 Gbps product-set enables service providers to upgrade their existing infrastructure to 40 Gbps in an evolutionary and seamless fashion. Mintera continues to gain customer traction since demonstrating the world's fastest ultra long-haul optical transport connection in June 2004 in a trial with MCI and Ciena Corporation. The company is also working with multiple research and development labs at carriers, systems suppliers, component manufacturers, research institutes and universities to conduct ongoing tests to drive down costs for 40 Gbps transmission. For more information, visit www.mintera.com/.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Bookham iTLA, and the company's full tunable portfolio, will be on display at the Bookham stand at OFC-NFOEC later this month.
2. The OFC-NFOEC exposition is taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California, between 27-29 March 2007. For more information, please visit www.ofcnfoec.org.
3. To arrange an interview with Bookham, please contact Helen Lyman Smith on +44 (0)115 948 6901 or email helen@gbcspr.com.
4. The OSA Executive Forum is taking place on Monday March 26, 2007 at the Hilton Anaheim, Anaheim. Adrian Meldrum, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bookham will be speaking at the State of The Industry panel - The Components Establishment - 14.00 - 15.30.
5. The paper being delivered by Bookham Zero Chirp 10Gbs MQW InP Mach Zehnder Transmitter with Full-band Tunability, will be presented at 09.30am on Wednesday March 28, 2007 in room 303B.
6. The poster being delivered by Bookham, Multiple Filter Functions Integrated into Multi-Port GFF Components, will be presented at 10.00am on Wednesday March 28, 2007 at the Joint Poster Session 1 in the exhibit hall.
Source: Bookham, Inc.
Web site: http://bookham.com/
http://www.mintera.com/
