OMM Inc. today announced the introduction of two new MEMS switching products, the OMM2x16 Photonic Switch and the OADS-8 Optical Add-Drop Switch.
The OMM2x16 Photonic Switch is a bi-directional switching module that can optically switch any of 2 input fibers to any of 16 output fibers. According to the company, the OMM2x16 is targeted at replacing expensive opto-mechanical switches in applications ranging from network monitoring and shared protection switching to test and measurement.
The second new product, the OADS-8 Optical Add-Drop Switch, is targeted at re-configurable optical add-drop switching and protection switching applications. It replaces arrays of separate 2x2 opto-mechanical switches that are currently being used in the same application, and is integrated into a single, small package measuring only 91 x 81 x 7.6mm.
By integrating higher density switching functionality into single modules, estimates have shown both products can reduce the cost of cumbersome and expensive fiber splices by 80% and footprint size is reduced by about 70% when compared to currently available opto-mechanical solutions, claim company representatives. Exploiting the benefit of MEMS technology, the OADS-8 and OMM2x16 each require only 15 W of power to operate.
Both modules operate over the full wavelength range of 1290 nm to 1610 nm and operate independent of signal transmission data rates and signal protocol.
"OMM has cornered the current market for MEMS optical switches and these new products will allow them to offer proven solutions to additional market segments," contends Marlene Bourne, senior analyst at Cahners In-Stat/MDR (Scottsdale, AZ).
For more information about OMM (San Diego, CA), visit the company's Web site at www.omminc.com.