16 November 2002 -- Fibercore Ltd, Southampton, UK, has announced the launch of two "revolutionary" erbium-doped fibres. Metrogain and Isogain brands are designed to address the requirements of high channel count DWDM and Metro networks.
The company says the new fibres will play a significant part in providing telecommunications operators with the components and fibres with which to build a sustainable recovery and develop the next generation of broadband networks.
Isogain will provide telecoms component manufacturers and systems developers with gain flatness that exceeds the state of the art in high channel count DWDM applications, while Metrogain offers EDFA manufacturers a reduced cost and higher performance fiber in both 125µm and reduced form factor 80µm diameters.
Both fibres provide reliability and geometric precision beyond Telcordia requirements, claims the company, with the 80µm Metrogain offering reduced susceptibility to static fatigue over traditional telecoms fibres, even in the latest generation of small form factor components.
Fibercore says that these will provide "a key benefit for the telecommunications industry as it begins its return to prosperity enabling them to improve performance from existing real estate without widespread investment in new infrastructure."
These developments are part of Fibercore Ltd's ongoing programme of "blue sky" fibre research, which draws on two decades of experience in photonics and has resulted in new fibres that enable high speed broadband optical networks for the telecoms market.
The company is also opening a custom-built research, development and manufacturing facility in Southampton, UK, later this year which will enable it to further expand its R&D capacity, and equip it for the volume production which will be a requirement of a sustainable telecoms rebirth.
Fibercore Limited says it is the world's largest supplier of polarisation maintaining fibre for the fibre gyro market, supplying more than 350km per month to the aerospace and defence industries.
In addition, Fibercore Limited has successfully received patent approval in the United States for the first of its revolutionary new generation of cladding pump optical fibers. The CP1100 ytterbium-doped fiber has a unique quasi-polygonal sinusoidal architecture and circular cross section representing a significant advance in fiber laser technology and brings the goal of multi-watt lasers a step closer.
Managing Director, Dr. Chris Emslie says, "The development of our Metrogain and ISogain fibres provides the telecoms industry with solutions to vital current challenges - performance, bandwidth and cost. Fibercore Limited's heritage of developing pioneering optical fibre for the aerospace, defence and fibre gyro markets for the past 20 years is enabling us to provide fully engineered, and field tested fibres to the telecoms industry.
"Our recent patent for the CP1100 is further evidence of our continued innovation and determination to bring three decades of expertise in manufacturing high quality specialty optical fibre to the telecoms market."