News: Optoelectronics
3 October 2023
EFFECT Photonics verifies fully integrated InP PIC in digital ITLA for coherent applications
EFFECT Photonics b.v. – a spin off from the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e) in The Netherlands that develops DWDM optical system-on-chip components for mobile networks and data-centers – has announced verification of its fully integrated tunable laser InP-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC), the core enabler powering its digital Pico Integrated Tunable Laser Assembly (pITLA).
As a core component of coherent optical systems enabling dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), tunable lasers allow network operators to expand their network capacity without expanding the existing fiber infrastructure. With this milestone, the firm’s tunable laser InP-based PIC has passed a series of tests showing required performance items outlined by IEEE Std. 802.3-2022, 100GBASE-ZR.
EFFECT Photonics says that, unlike tunable laser assemblies currently available, the core of its digital pITLA is a tunable laser implemented fully as a monolithic integrated InP PIC. This enables advantages such as the ability to achieve a compact footprint, higher assembly yields, and ease of integration into pluggable form factors. The InP PIC is claimed to be the only solution to integrate the gain section, laser cavity, optical amplifier and wavelength locker into one chip. By incorporating these functions on a single chip and including the control functions in the assembly, the user can easily communicate and control the laser by simply providing digital commands.
“In the last decade, the industry has made impressive strides in reducing the size of crucial coherent optical functions, making way for digital coherent modules. EFFECT Photonics pITLA sets a new precedent in photonic integration by eliminating the need for external micro-optics for control of tunable lasers,” claims CEO Roberto Marcoccia. “Our monolithic approach maintains all vital functions while drastically reducing the device’s overall size to a smaller form factor previously unattainable.”
Purposely designed to simplify the design of small-form-factor pluggables, the integrated InP PIC is the foundation of EFFECT Photonics’ new pITLA, providing a blend of power, cost-effectiveness and compactness. It paves the way for the cost-efficient design of coherent pluggables, opening up new possibilities for the industry, claims the firm.
At the 49th European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2023) in Glasgow, Scotland, UK (2–4 October), EFFECT Photonics is exhibiting in Stand 547 and presenting ‘Power and Integration: InP for Coherent Transceivers at the Network Edge’ at 12.20pm in the ‘Modules/Sub-systems’ Market Focus Session on 2 October.
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