ACADEMIA

Finisar has announced that it will demonstrate several new optical communication technologies at OFC/NFOEC, including a 120Gb/s parallel link, 16x Fibre Channel SFP+ transceiver, and 40Gb/s DWDM transponders utilizing RZ-DQPSK modulation. These demonstrations are examples of Finisar's ongoing commitment to driving innovation in optical components for high-speed, high-performance communications. In addition, Finisar will demonstrate WaveShaper, the industry's first programmable optical processor family for the optical instrumentation market. Demonstrations will take place in Finisar's booth #1734 at OFC/NFOEC, March 24-26, 2009, in San Diego, California.

Finisar is the first company to showcase several new form factors capable of supporting 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s optical links over multimode or single-mode fiber optics. Specifically, Finisar will show a working 120Gb/s link over multimode fiber using a 12x10Gb/s parallel active optical cable which incorporates the new CXP pluggable form factor. This will be the first public demonstration of a working CXP-based active optical cabling solution, targeted at InfiniBand and Ethernet data center connectivity in High Performance Computing, Storage, and Networking applications. Additionally, Finisar will display the new 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s CFP pluggable transceiver form factor. CFP pluggable transceiver modules will be a key building block for next-generation 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s Ethernet routers and switches as well as for 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s telecom client interfaces. Finisar is a founding member of the CFP MSA.

"Finisar has taken a leadership role in the development of the 40G and 100G Ethernet standards as well as the pluggable CFP MSA," said Rafik Ward, vice president of marketing at Finisar. "Finisar's demonstration of a working 120Gb/s link using a 12x10Gb/s parallel active optical cable serves not only as an important proof-of-concept in enabling 100G line rates, but also demonstrates significant progress in optics technology."

Also being shown at OFC is Finisar's 40Gb/s DWDM optical transponder based on the RZ-DQPSK modulation format. This 300-pin MSA transponder is designed to enable carriers to migrate their metro core, regional, and long-haul networks to 40Gb/s. Facilitating the highest OSNR (optical signal to noise ratio) sensitivity on the market with superior PMD (polarization mode dispersion) tolerance, it is capable of supporting a very large dynamic range of input optical power levels. The Finisar RZ-DQPSK transponder can be designed into the same line-cards as Finisar's NRZ-DPSK 300pin transponders as a compatible drop-in option, enabling DWDM system houses to achieve the highest performance available at 40G for OTU3 and OTU3e DWDM line cards.

Finisar will also show a live 16x Fibre Channel short wave SFP+ transceiver capable of operating over 150 meters of OM3 fiber. Currently being standardized by the INCITS T11 committee, 16x Fibre Channel is the next Fibre Channel data rate for storage area networks. This SFP+ module is designed to meet the stringent requirements for reliability and link integrity required for mission critical enterprise data-storage applications. It operates at 14Gb/s with exceptionally low power dissipation.