Nistica Corp., a supplier of agile optical networking modules, announced its entry into high-port-count wavelength-selective switches (WSSs) with the launch of its 15-port waveblocker array. The new product line, named FOURIER, allows 25-GHz channel spacing and delivers gridless performance with sub-5 GHz granularity.
The FOURIER modules are being used as building blocks to create ROADM network nodes that satisfy the upcoming needs for colorless, directionless, contentionless, and gridless applications. Several customers have designed the FOURIER modules into their system architectures, with high-volume production expected to begin in the next quarter, Nistica says.
Each Nistica FOURIER module offers up to 15 waveblockers in a parallel array and can be configured as 1xN wavelength selective switches for colorless, directionless add/drop nodes. The true waveblocker nature of the individual switches enables these ports to be used as both single-channel add/drop ports and multi-channel WDM ports for inter-ring connectivity. In addition, any of the waveblockers can be converted to gridless optical channel monitors (OCMs) that track the health of individual wavelengths. The gridless features enable the modules to be used in future-proof networks requiring support for channels with greater than 100-Gbps capacity.
"The launch of our FOURIER series of products positions us as the most cost- and space-effective solution in the high-port-count wavelength selective switch market," remarked Ashish Vengsarkar, CEO of Nistica. "Our customers are impressed with the optical performance and the versatility of these building blocks to generate various colorless add-drop configurations."
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