German Researchers Use Discovery Semiconductors' 20 Gb/s Multimode Optical Receivers to Characterize 980 nm VCSELs
October 20, 2006 - Discovery Semiconductors, based in Ewing, NJ, has provided 25 GHz multimode (MM) photodiodes to the Technical University of Berlin for their research on directly modulated 980 nm lasers. Prof. D. Bimberg, with the Technical University of Berlin, led a collaborative group of researchers from the Center for Nano Photonics, Nanosemiconductor GmbH in Dortmund as well as that of Fraunhofer Institute HHI in Berlin, Germany. They recently reported the development of directly modulated, sub-monolayer grown quantum dot vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) at 980 nm for 20 Gb/s error free operation at 85 °C [1]. The lasers were characterized and tested using a Discovery DSC30S MM; 25 GHz photodiode coupled to a 62.5 µm graded index multimode fiber. Prof. Bimberg said, "Next generation short distance optical networks like chip-to-chip, or backplane applications require temperature robust ultra-high bit rate sources. Our final goal is a 1 Tbit/s VCSEL array fitting the Terabus demands of IBM, INTEL, Cisco, etc. We were able to characterize the high speed performance of the multimode laser without the detector compromising the results."
Roy Howard, the Applications Engineer at Discovery who witnessed the development of the multimode high speed photodiodes over the last 6 years said, "The ease of optically interfacing the large aperture fibers into an experiment as well as the broad wavelength coverage of our photodiodes have opened up a number of new applications for high bit rate MM devices. The development of directly modulated VCSEL lasers at 980 nm is an important milestone on the road to 20 and 40 Gb/s multimode transmission." Mr. Howard went on to add that Discovery is seeing a marked increase in business for multimode fibered optical receivers at data rates above 10 Gb/s. He said that the need for technical solutions for 100 Gb/s Ethernet is one of the major drivers for this growth.
Discovery Semiconductors is an industry leader in the manufacture of ultrafast, high optical power handling InGaAs photodetectors, radio frequency over fiber optical receivers, balanced optical receivers and several other custom products for applications ranging from analog RF links to ultrafast digital communications. They have experience with Space and High Reliability Military Projects, and their customers include Fortune 500 telecom and aerospace companies, defense organizations, universities and emerging communication companies.
For additional information, including complete product specifications, operational capabilities and pricing, or to discuss your application in detail, please call Discovery at: (609) 434-1311 or fax: (609) 434-1317.
[1] International Semiconductor Laser Conference ISLC, F. Hopfer et al., WC3, p. 119, Hawaii, (2006), ISBN: 0-7803-9560-3.
Discovery Semiconductors, Inc.®
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