Avanex debuts tunable platform for inline dispersion compensation management

MARCH 23, 2007 -- Avanex Corp. (search for Avanex), today introduced its inline tunable dispersion compensator (TDC) platform.

According to the company, the PowerShaper3200 platform is the industry's only broadband TDC compatible with both 10- and 40-Gbit/sec transmission speeds. This product platform provides remotely tunable dispersion and 100% slope compensation for all C-band channels simultaneously with signal pass-band fidelity, says Avanex.

The emergence of reconfigurable networks and the migration to 10- and 40-Gbit/sec transmission speeds requires signal fidelity to be maintained over a broad range of system configurations. Additionally, as bandwidth usage increases, remote network reconfiguration is increasingly critical and is needed to lower installation and maintenance costs. Tunable dispersion compensation management is critical to maintain signal fidelity and minimize transmission penalty, note Avanex representatives.

The PowerShaper platform is a compact and simple-to-use module that can be seamlessly integrated into the mid-stage of an Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) or DWDM demultiplexer, says the company. This both enables flexibility required by next-generation networks and reduces the overall cost of dispersion compensation management throughout the network.

The intelligent digital control system employed in the Avanex TDC platform overcomes complex control, stability, and fidelity challenges to achieve <5 psec of peak-to-peak Group Delay Ripple, reports the company. The module can be tuned remotely or by an integrated closed loop control system to optimize and maintain network performance without network operator intervention. The module can also be used in "set-and-forget" mode as a substitute for fixed dispersion compensators.

The PowerShaper is compact by design (100- x130- x15-mm) and employs proprietary etalon technology to achieve dynamic dispersion compensation over ± 800 psec/nm (<6 dB loss) or ± 1200 psec/nm (<8 dB loss) with a dispersion pass-band of 40 GHz, or up to ± 1400 psec/nm over a 35-GHz dispersion pass-band at 100-GHz channel spacing, and precise control of dispersion to <20 psec/nm.

PowerShaper 3200 product platform will be presented at Avanex's booth (#2141) at next week's OFC/NFOEC Conference in Anaheim, CA.