March 4, 2005 San Jose, CA -- Bookham, a provider of optical components, modules, and subsystems, will introduce its LC96 series 980-nm pump laser modules at next week's OFC/NFOEC conference. According to the company, the module is the most powerful of its kind for telecom applications, combining "kink-free" power output of up to 580mW with high reliability and stable performance.
The company says the module allows a significant step forward in the design and operation of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) by enabling lower cost, lower power dissipation, extended operating ranges, and improved noise figure performance. Incorporating the latest G08 laser chip from the company's facility in Zürich, the fully Telcordia GR-468-CORE-compliant module comes in a hermetically sealed, 14-pin cooled butterfly package, and uses polarization maintaining fiber to enable performance stability over a wide dynamic range. Volume shipments of the device have already begun.
"Using the LC96 series pump laser will improve EDFA performance and create real differentiation for the OEM," contends Robert Baker, VP of product management at Bookham. "In turn, the long-term reliability of such EDFAs will ultimately lead to lower operating costs for the end-user. In the majority of EDFA applications the pump laser represents a significant proportion of the EDFA cost structure, and we are now significantly reducing that cost."
According to the company, its LC96 series is a key component for next generation EDFAs, which require highly reliable pump lasers with ultra high kink-free power. Ultra high kink-free power enables significant cost reduction in existing/legacy EDFA designs where the quantity of pumps can be reduced. Moreover, the availability of high kink-free power outputs allows EDFA designers to replace power-hungry 1480-nm pump lasers with 980-nm pumps, and to benefit from improved EDFA noise figure performance. The technology is a key enabler for highly demanding next generation submarine applications, which require high power in conjunction with very stringent reliability requirements.
The company's other pump lasers include ultra-high power cooled 14-pin butterfly, uncooled MiniDILs, and multimode pump devices, produced for a broad range of applications in both telecommunications and industrial markets. The company claims to have shipped in excess of 250,000 pump modules, with more than 9 billion device hours accumulated in the field.
Senior representatives from the company will be on hand at next week's OFC/NFOEC conference, in booth 2213.