TeraXion Inc of Quebec, Canada (which designs and manufactures optical components and modules for high-speed fiber-optic transmission networks, fiber lasers and optical sensing applications) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) have announced a strategic partnership that should lead to the development and fabrication of TeraXion's new modulator products family and covers its next-generation indium phosphide (InP) high-speed modulators for coherent transmission systems at 100Gb/s and beyond. Work will take place at NRC's Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre in Ottawa, which provides engineering and manufacturing services, commercial grade prototyping and pilot-run production facilities for III-V semiconductors.
The announcement is "another important milestone supporting our strategy for rapidly delivering state-of-the-art high-speed modulators," says TeraXion's president & CEO Alain-Jacques Simard. "The Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre's proven track record for bringing products to a commercialization level has been a key factor in our decision to rely on this partner," he adds.
"The new modulator concept will use a proprietary design to achieve world-record low power consumption as well as reaching very high modulation speeds necessary for 100Gb/s and above transmission," says Ian Woods, vice-president InP Platform at TeraXion. "In addition, the form factor of this modulator will be ten times smaller than the competing technologies available today," he adds.
"The new modulator design takes advantage of the unique process capabilities existing at the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre," explains Frank Shepherd, the Centre's technical manager.
TeraXion's team has previously demonstrated qualified modulator products. Among the catalysts for the TeraXion-NRC partnership are the close geographical location of both partners and the strong photonic eco-system present in the Ottawa region.
