Finisar producing 100G SWDM optical transceiver for upgrades from 10 to 100 Gbps

Finisar (NASDAQ:FNSR) says it is currently producing its 100G shortwave wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) optical transceiver, allowing users to upgrade from existing 10 to 100 Gbps, while still retaining the existing multimode fiber (MMF) infrastructure.

The pluggable QSFP28 transceiver is the first mass-produced module capable of transmitting 100 Gbps over a single pair of multimode fibers, and the market's first optical module that is compliant with the 100G SWDM4 specification defined by the SWDM multi-source agreement (MSA) in March (see "SWDM MSA publishes two shortwave WDM standards"), the company asserts.

Data centers commonly transmit 10-Gbps optical signals over duplex MMF. To upgrade to 40 or 100 Gbps via conventional optical transceivers based on the IEEE 40GBASE-SR4 or 100GBASE-SR4 standards, which both depend on pairs of four fibers (eight fibers in total), operators would have to quadruple the amount of MMF used.

The SWDM MSA specifications permit data centers to leverage their existing MMF plant to meet these application requirements by enabling the transmission of four wavelengths on a MMF strand. This efficiency eliminates the need for additional fiber when moving to 40 or 100 Gbps.

Finisar asserts it was the first optical transceiver vendor to finish reliability testing and release a 40-Gbps SWDM4 module earlier this year, and the first vendor to finish reliability testing and release 100-Gbps SWDM4 modules compliant with the "40G SWDM4" and "100G SWDM4" specifications of the SWDM MSA. Finisar also demonstrated an extended-reach 100G eSWDM4 module at ECOC 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden in September.

"Finisar's SWDM modules are the first of their kind to finish qualification and be released to mass production," said Dale Murray, principal analyst at LightCounting Market Research. "These duplex MMF modules provide systems vendors with a strong competitive advantage against other vendors who offer only parallel multimode optics at 40G and 100G to their data center customers."

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