EXFO to launch All-Band Component Analyzer at OFC/NFOEC 2005

February 1, 2005 Quebec City, Canada -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. announced today the upcoming product launch of the IQS-12008 All-Band Component Analyzer at OFC/NFOEC 2005 in Anaheim, CA.Designed for the optical component manufacturing and R&D markets, the All-Band Component Analyzer is the only test system on the market capable of characterizing optical components across the entire telecom wavelength range, claim EXFO representatives. With a single internal tunable laser sweeping from 1260 nm to 1630 nm, the instrument provides what EXFO claims is simple, efficient, and comprehensive measurement capabilities across all the bands (O, E, S, C, L, and U). The All-Band Component Analyzer is designed for all passive components, but due to its extended wavelength range of nearly 400 nm, it is particularly well suited for fiber-to-the-x (FTTx) and CWDM applications. The company claims it is the only single-box solution that provides multi-channel insertion loss (IL), optical return loss (ORL), and polarization-dependent loss (PDL) measurements over all the bands.The new test system analyzes all critical parameters required to help customers validate their component designs and to improve their production efficiency and time-to-market. Moreover, the modular nature of the hardware and the flexibility of the software make it easy to upgrade a test station. For example, a four-channel test system for measuring couplers or splitters can be expanded up to 32 channels by simply adding the necessary plug-in mini-modules. The All-Band Component Analyzer is also compact: An entire 32-channel system, including PDL tester, will fit into a single IQS-510P platform."With this industry first, we have established a new benchmark for optical component analysis," contends �tienne Gagnon, EXFO's vice president of Optical Layer Product Management. "Customers, who were using a costly, patchwork setup by stringing together multiple tunable lasers, broadband light sources, and various detection schemes, can now rely on EXFO's all-in-one test system to meet all their passive component testing needs," he says. EXFO's All-Band Component Analyzer will be showcased at booth 1407 from March 8-10 at OFC/NFOEC 2005 in Anaheim, CA.