The OptiSplice Premier fusion splicer (iLID) features very low field splice loss and includes a completely integrated, full-featured 6.4-inch touchscreen PC that is compatible with most off-the-shelf software and USB accessories. Users can send documentation to/from the job site via email, transferring data to/from a USB memory device or CD-RW drive, attaching the splicer to a wire line cell phone to access the Internet, and connecting to the Splicer Service Center from a remote location for software upgrades or assistance. The splicer also features an integrated GPS system, which can store location coordinates or be used for navigation. It can be connected directly to a flat-panel monitor or data projector for group training sessions. The unit monitors light injected into the core of the fibers, providing active core alignment, auto-fusion time control, and splice loss measurement. Permanently attached arc stabilizers help ensure high precision and long life. An electrode cleaning arc applied by the splicer automatically allows continued low-loss splicing for about 7,000 arcs. Corning Cable Systems, Hickory, NC, www.corning.com
Designed for enterprise applications like metropolitan and campus sidewalks, roadways, and parking lots, the pavement cable can be used by multisystem operators to deploy fiber to commercial, residential, and small-to-medium businesses. Available in up to 72-fiber count, it uses a gel-filled central tube cable encased in a smooth-wall welded copper armor to provide excellent fiber protection and water-blocking characteristics. The rugged cable has excellent crush resistance and thermal stability while providing tensile performance compatible with standard micro-trenching techniques. Since sharp edges are minimized, it also provides fiber protection during cable access and termination. The cable's installation requires only a 10-mm-×-8-cm-deep groove to be cut into a sidewalk, roadway, or parking lot, significantly reducing disruption of day-to-day traffic at the installation site. The cable is placed at the bottom of the slot and held in place by a closed-cell, foamed backer rod. The opening is then easily sealed with common, commercially available hot sealant, roofing tar, or caulking, depending on the surface.
CommScope, Hickory, NC, www.commscope.com
For use in remotely deployed SONET/SDH add/drop multiplexers and terminal multiplexers, the PM5337 ADM 622 and PM5338 ADM 622 PDH optical access devices enable system designers to build robust small-footprint carrier class equipment that extends legacy and next-generation services to small and medium enterprises. Both devices integrate SONET/SDH framers and pointer processors, PDH mappers, expansion interfaces, and a crossconnect. They may operate in an equipment-protected mode with a mate device that allows full equipment and client interface redundancy—a single platform can be easily configured to interoperate with carriers' deployed networks. The devices are designed in 0.13-µm CMOS technology and packaged in an 896-ball, 31×31-mm flip-chip ball-grid-array package. The Layer 2 processor in the ADM 622 provides aggregation, grooming, policing, and Ethernet operations, administration, and maintenance capabilities to enable next-generation services without the need for an external Ethernet switch or network processor. Four serial interfaces are provided, each capable of independent operation at 622 or 2,488 Mbits/sec, so additional client interfaces can be added to the system in the future. An 8-bit 77.76-MHz telecombus interface is also provided.
PMC-Sierra, Santa Clara, CA, www.pmc-sierra.com
For SAN installation, commissioning, and maintenance, the Packet Blazer FTB-8520 Fibre Channel (FC) test module—contained inside the FTB-400 universal test system—provides FC-0-, FC-1-, and FC-2-level testing capabilities, while supporting full-line-rate traffic generation at 1 and 2 Gbits/sec. Features like buffer-to-buffer credit estimation and roundtrip latency qualification enable both configuration and performance management. The FC module also measures highly accurate bit-error-rate values that reflect the quality of SAN transmission systems. Its intuitive smart user interface allows for simple configuration and customization of test routines as well as real time and historical performance reporting.
EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering, Quebec City, www.exfo.com
The strand-mount multiplexers/demultiplexers are diffraction-grating-based, athermal products offering parallel optical demultiplexing, which results in low insertion loss, high channel count, and excellent channel-to-channel uniformity. They are rugged and insensitive to temperature and pressure variations and enable passive optics to be installed outside. The strand-mount units provide simplified installation and eliminate right-of-way issues as well as the need for new-building leases for hybrid fiber/coax networks. Outside plant-hardened optics and rack-mount products for the hub can be combined in a variety of ways to suit the needs of various network architectures. Legacy 1310- and 1550-nm systems can be upgraded so the system can grow according to demand.
Confluent Photonics, Salem, NH, www.confluentphotonics.com
With a higher-capacity switch fabric, network interfaces, and access interfaces, Release 2.0 of the 7340 "Fiber-to-the-User" (FTTU) broadband passive optical network (BPON) is optimized for growth in broadband/IP services and can aggregate and groom communications traffic for ATM, IP, and voice networks. The enhanced capacity enables 100 Mbits/sec of throughput per subscriber, and the new interfaces provide flexibility for network interconnection with IP and ATM core networks. Release 2.0 also includes a hardened business optical-network terminal for outdoor installation.
Alcatel, Dallas, www.alcatel.com
For 10-Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel applications, the XENPAK hot-pluggable, XAUI-based, MDIO-interface transponder uses uncooled DFB optics, while the system-side XAUI electrical interface supports transmission data over 20 inches of standard FR-4. The MDIO interface allows easy access to physical layer management functions, user-definable nonvolatile registers, and low-power startup mode. Comprehensive system diagnostics also provide easy access to monitoring and control functions as well as digital optical monitoring. Diagnostics such as integrated PRBS test-pattern generation/checking, diagnostic loopback capability, and built-in bit-error-rate monitoring can be read via the MDIO interface. The XAUI interface incorporates 8B/10B and 64B/66B coding, lane retiming and de-skewing, and integrated 10-Gbit/sec serial multiplexing/demultiplexing.
Network Elements, Beaverton, OR, www.nei.com
For polishing photonic or semiconductor wafers/components in applications like lasers, IC production, and MEMS, the industrial-level DH600 and research-level DH300 driven-head high-speed optical polishing systems provide the impetus required for greatly reduced polish times, while still achieving consistent parallel finishing. In each case, the polishing plate is capable of rotating at speeds up to 160 rpm with a wafer or component retention arm that independently rotates the materials being held at speeds to 45 rpm. The increased levels of downward load (up to 45 kg per head) that can be applied through the polishing heads make these units suited for polishing optical glass or hard substrate materials like silicon carbide and sapphire. The DH600 can polish up to 48 wafers simultaneously in an industrial setup, and the smaller DH300 has the capacity for polishing up to 6×2-inch-diameter wafers or alternatively a single 8-inch-diameter wafer.
Logitech, Westlake, OH, www.logitech-us.com