Lightwave Logic launches 50-Gbaud polymer modulator for 10 km and greater reaches

Lightwave Logic, Inc. (OTCQB: LWLG) has unveiled a prototype 50-Gbaud modulator based on its polymer technology. The modulator targets fiber-optic networks at reaches of 10 km and greater. Lightwave Logic says it can now deliver the polymer modulator in a generic package for preliminary evaluation, with an eye toward using its in-house vertical integration capabilities to customize the device to meet specific customer requirements.

The company has pursued polymer as a medium for photonic integration for some time (see, for example, “Lightwave Logic launches material platform” from 2009). It demonstrated 25-Gbps performance in 2017, but the 50-Gbaud modulator became a primary goal for the company coincident with the arrival of Michael Lebby as CEO that year (see “Lightwave Logic ups polymer ridge waveguide modulator performance to 25 Gbps” and “Lightwave Logic names Michael Lebby CEO, Fred Leonberger to board,” and "Lightwave Logic says polymer-based Mach-Zehnder modulators meet 50-Gbps PAM4 requirements"). A 50-Gbaud modulator can help support 100-Gbps transmission in applications using PAM4 modulation. The modulator therefore can be used in designs for 100-, 200-, and 400-Gbps transmission, the latter two in an array.

“While we explore other multi-billion dollar markets the benchmark market opportunity for fiber-optic link distances of 10 km and greater is worth over $1 billion over the next decade. As data rates increase, we see a growing technology gap at these longer reaches that our modulators are ideally suited to fill,” Lebby explains.

Meanwhile, Lebby has laid out 100 Gbaud as the next step in the product development roadmap.

For related articles, visit the Optical Technologies Topic Center.

For more information on optical components and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.