Oclaro unveils integrated coherent receiver and transmitter for 400G and 600G networks up to 64Gbaud

In booth #268 at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2017) in Gothenburg, Sweden (18-20 September), Oclaro Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which provides components, modules and subsystems for optical communications) has launched photonic integrated coherent transmitters (ICTs) and intradyne coherent receiver (ICRs) for 400G and 600G applications. The components can be configured for multiple data rates, enabling users to cover a wide range of network applications from data-center interconnects (DCIs) to ultra-long-haul transmission.

“With our ICR and ICT product offerings, customers will be able to design high-performance coherent systems that are both flexible in the bandwidth offered per port and cost competitive by maximizing the data that can be carried on a single wavelength,” says Beck Mason, president of Oclaro’s Integrated Photonics business unit. “These new components leverage Oclaro’s proven expertise in photonic integration and indium phosphide technology.”

The 64Gbaud ICT combines an ultra-narrow-linewidth laser with a high-bandwidth dual QPSK Mach-Zehnder modulator to support flexible baud rates up to 64Gbaud and 64-QAM modulation. This enables transmission from 100G to 600G. Built-in semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), a tunable filter and a variable optical attenuator (VOA) eliminate the need for external optical components and simplify assembly while enabling operation in colorless networks. The ICT provides a local oscillator (LO) feed with +12dBm output power for optimal receiver performance.

The 64Gbaud ICR is a fully integrated coherent receiver that supports flexible data rates from 100G to 600G. It can operate at rates up to 64Gbaud with modulation schemes such as 64-QAM. The 64Gbaud ICR has an integrated monitor photodiode (MPD) and VOA to support single-channel and multi-channel applications in colorless networks. It is compliant with the form factor specified in OIF Implementation Agreement OIF-DPC-MRX-01.0.

The 64Gbaud ICR almost doubles the bandwidth without changes in responsivity relative to 32Gbaud parts. This enables the 64Gbaud ICT-ICR pair to meet link budgets in existing networks while more than doubling the capacity. The compact form factors and integrated functionality (with no external optical components needed) of the 64Gbaud ICT and ICR pair make them suitable for the stringent size requirements on next-generation 1.2Tb SLEDs.

Oclaro expects to sample its 64Gbaud ICR and ICT products in fourth-quarter 2017.

In addition, Oclaro’s 43Gbaud ICT and ICR have been deployed in high volume for applications up to 250G/wavelength worldwide. These components are now available for use in compact form factors such as CFP-DCO and CFP2-ACO. The highly integrated 43Gbaud ICR/ICT offers what is claimed to be industry-leading performance with no need for external optical components such as erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA), VOAs or splitters.