Mar 13 2014
NeoPhotonics Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of photonic integrated circuit, or PIC, based modules and subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high speed optical communications networks, today introduced new configurations of its multicast switch (MCS) modules, which are designed to be combined in a modular fashion to increase the number of degrees or directions supported by a ROADM node, reducing initial costs and providing a “pay as you grow” model to scale with network growth.
For example, with this modular approach, two 4x4 MCSs can be combined to form a dual 8x4 configuration, supporting a total of 8 input ports. Similarly two modules of the dual 4x16 MCS can be combined to form a dual 8x16 that can be further extended to a 12x16 configuration.
NeoPhotonics Multicast Switches are designed to be used in a next generation ROADM node to direct any wavelength to any port (Colorless), accept input wavelength channels from multiple different directions (Directionless), and be able to drop two identical wavelengths from different directions through the same switch (Contentionless), thereby increasing network flexibility and efficiency. One of the biggest challenges for designers of these next-generation “colorless, directionless and contentionless,” or CDC, networks is managing the up-front initial installation costs required to support the large number of degrees or directions which may eventually be required in dense mesh networks, even though initial deployments may only utilize a small number of degrees. NeoPhotonics new modular approach to next-generation ROADM design allows network equipment manufacturers to initially install low port count modules which provide only the ports and directions that are initially needed.
As the complexity of the network deployment grows, the NeoPhotonics’ modular multi-core approach uses advanced PIC technology to allow customers to increase the number of add/drop channels, and to expand the number of degrees or directions, on a pay-as-you-grow basis. Additional ports and directions are only added when traffic exists to support the expansion. The NeoPhotonics Multicast Switch enables users to upgrade today’s first generation “rigid” ROADMs to the next-generation any-wavelength-to-any-port CDC capable metro and long-haul networks. In fact, for some metro networks with a small number of coherent optics-based add/drop ports with 100Gb/s or beyond capacity, it may be possible to add CDC functionality with no additional add/drop optical amplifiers needed.
“We are very pleased to announce NeoPhotonics modular approach to next generation CDC ROADMs which addresses a critical problem for systems designers and carriers by reducing the first install costs of CDC ROADMs without compromising the ability of these systems to scale with network growth,” said Tim Jenks, CEO of NeoPhotonics. “The modular multicast switch design is made possible by NeoPhotonics advanced photonic integration technology which efficiently combines many functions on a single Silicon chip.”
NeoPhotonics is showcasing its Modular MCS alongside its 100G Client transceivers (CFP, CFP2), intradyne coherent receivers (ICR), and micro narrow linewidth tunable lasers (μITLA) for 100G coherent communications, as well as an extensive line of next generation transceivers for access networks, in Booth 1815 at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) Exposition at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, March 11-13.