Nov 6 2007
JDSU today announced that it has delivered its 400,000th 980 nanometer (nm) amplifier pump laser based on its planar platform. The recipient of the milestone shipment, Wuxi Zhongxing Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. (WXZTE), located in Wuxi, China, has purchased more than 30,000 980nm pump lasers from JDSU over the past three years.
980nm planar pump lasers are used to power erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), a critical optical component that regenerates weakened network signals traveling long distances over agile optical networks (AONs). Service providers are deploying AONs to provide flexible network infrastructures that can meet increasing consumer demand for the voice, video and data applications that are driving higher internet traffic levels.
JDSU estimates its planar pump lasers have logged more than seven billion field hours since shipments began in 2000. During that period, network operators traced only fifteen field failures to the planar pump lasers, equating to an industry-leading reliability figure of > 3 Failure In Time (FIT). Service providers rely on low optical component FIT rates to prevent network downtime and costly service calls.
"JDSU has been a reliable supplier to WXZTE over the years, and we are proud to have received this milestone shipment," commented ZuQuan Qiu, vice president of Purchasing at WXZTE. "Our partnership with JDSU has been a key element to WXZTE's success in expanding our international business to service Tier 1 network equipment manufacturers around the globe."
JDSU was the first supplier to adopt a simplified and less capital- intensive manufacturing process when it developed its planar platform pump laser architecture. The planar approach requires fewer parts compared to older designs, and enables JDSU to develop a more reliable product that can be flexibly manufactured to quickly respond to market needs. This simplified approach also allowed JDSU to seamlessly transfer manufacturing of the planar pump lasers to its facility in Shenzhen, China in 2005.
As light is transmitted through AONs, signal degradation occurs over distances of approximately 60 to 100 kilometers. EDFAs are positioned throughout networks to regenerate weakened signals. An EDFA relies on an optical fiber that is "doped" with the element erbium, which efficiently converts pump laser energy to replicate signal light in a 1550nm band. 980nm pump lasers are preferred due to their low noise amplification, low power consumption, reliability, and competitive price.