With the migration from 10G and 40G to 100G data rates accelerating considerably until 2020 (with more than 15 million 100G ports expected to be deployed), Source Photonics Inc of West Hills, CA, USA (which provides broadband access optical components and modules) says that it has anticipated the rapid expansion in deployment of 100G modules seen during 2017 by positioning itself through early R&D and investments in operational infrastructure in 100G small-form-factor long-reach single-mode devices.
After sampling the first generation of 100GBASE-LR4 in QSFP28 form factor in 2014, Source Photonics went into full-scale production in 2015. The firm says that continuous investment in its indium phosphide (InP) fab as well as in transceiver production infrastructure has allowed it to react to the increasing volume needs as well as to the cost requirements of customers. Capacity expansion will support the produciton of more than half a million modules annually by early 2018.
Building on the technical 100G LR4 platform as well as production operations for complex small-form-factor modules, Source Photonics is expanding its product portfolio to address market needs for the 100G QSFP28 form factor by adding support for modules with OTU4 data-rate and extended-temperature operation up to 85°C for 100GBASE-LR4 and 100G CWDM4 (2km) and 4WDM-10 (10km) modules. In addition, longer-reach 100G applications of up to 40km are supported by a 100G 4WDM-40 MSA-compliant module. These complementary transceivers will be available for sampling in fourth-quarter 2017 and will move to full production in first-quarter 2018.
Further R&D investments are funding multiple projects for 28Gbaud and 53Gbaud PAM4-based next-generation technology for 100G and 400G products to be released to production in 2018.
Source Photonics is exhibiting its full portfolio of 100G products and demonstrating next-generation technologies from its expanding portfolio of higher-speed products in booth 162 at the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2017) in Gothenburg, Sweden (18-20 September).
