Here's a wow!!!!
Mitel Pushes the Boundaries of Optical Communications
OTTAWA, CANADA,--Mitel Corporation (NYSE/TSE:MLT) has produced
working prototypes of photonic devices aimed at improving the
price/performance ratio of Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
by an order of magnitude or more.
DWDM is a key enabling technology to meet the insatiable demand
for bandwidth on the backbone of the Internet. The technology
allows more information to be carried over a single fiber by
multiplexing (or mixing) multiple wavelengths of light.
Mitel's breakthrough allows a higher number of wavelengths (or
channels) of information to be multiplexed at lower cost.
Currently most commercially available products handle 16 channels.
Newer offerings can go to 40 channels using a technique called
Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) but are limited in capacity by the
large dimensions of the chip and by performance constraints
imposed by conventional production techniques. Sometimes, such
devices are also expensive to manufacture as they employ complex
materials and specialty processes.
To overcome these limitations, Mitel employed a different form of
grating known as an Echelle Grating and tapped into its proven
semiconductor fabrication expertise to develop a number of
proprietary, patentable techniques and built a better chip. The
result may lead to a higher-capacity, single-chip device based on
standard semiconductor materials that dramatically alters the
economics of high-speed optical communications.
"Moving this technology to silicon instead of relying on more
expensive and exotic materials, holds significant promise for
cheaper, more reliable devices that are essential for high-speed
optical transmission," said Dr. R. Normandin, director general,
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council
of Canada. "Mitel's approach will positively influence performance
and cost limitations."
"This is an example of what some people call disruptive
technology," said Moris Simson, senior vice president and chief
technology and marketing officer, Mitel Corporation. "By being
able to etch deep enough, smooth enough and vertical enough into
silica, we have laid the foundation for dramatic improvements in
the capacity, size and cost of these devices."
Three fundamental capabilities are at the heart of Mitel's
breakthrough:
* Material Deposition, which allows thick layers of glass (or
silica) to be deposited on a silicon base. Mitel is able to
accurately control the material's uniformity and thickness, which
makes its refractive index - hence performance - predictable.
* Precision Etching, which allows the Echelle grating function to
work. The challenge here is to deliver the optical multiplexing
capability by allowing light to reflect and then propagate with
extreme precision.
* Product Realization, which entails qualifying the resultant
devices and their physical packaging in a hermetic enclosure. The
challenges here are to ensure that the device's performance is not
affected by the polarization of light and to push the envelope in
automation to obtain higher yields than competing alternatives.
"With a 40 channel multiplexing device, we believe our footprint
per channel is five times smaller than competing alternatives, "
said Dr. John Miller, Director of Photonics, Mitel Semiconductor.
With this level of miniaturization, our approach provides
unprecedented scalability leading to higher capacities and reduces
the need for expensive, highly specialized amplifiers in the
network. Mitel's current prototype conforms to the ITU-T grid with
100 GHz channel spacing. An 80-channel 50 GHz device is also in
development."
The optical multiplexer family of products resulting from this
research will be called LightRider and will be targeted to DWDM
equipment serving metropolitan area networks. This market is
currently estimated at US $375 million and forecasted to reach US
$2.04 billion by 2004*. Mitel expects to provide its lead
customers with LightRider samples for evaluation by early next
year.
This development program is another step in Mitel's progress in
photonics and optoelectronics. The company continues to explore
new frontiers with research organizations and universities, and
recently established the Mitel Photonics Fund at the University of
Ottawa to foster advanced multidisciplinary research.
About Mitel
Mitel Semiconductor specializes in connectivity solutions for the
communications and medical industries with a product range that
includes components for both wired and wireless networks;
microelectronics for enabling the convergence of voice and data;
optoelectronic devices for high-speed Internet systems; and
applications-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for medical
applications such as pacemakers and hearing aids. For more
information visit www.mitelsemi.com.
Mitel is a global provider of semiconductors and communications
systems for converging voice and data networks in a rapidly
evolving Internet economy. The company has annual revenue of $1.4
billion and employs some 6,000 people worldwide. For more
information visit www.mitel.com.
Certain statements in this press release constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risk, uncertainties, and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company, to be materially different from any
future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and
assumptions include, among others, the risks discussed in
documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks
detailed in those filings.
*Pioneer Consulting, LLC report "Market opportunities for optical
switching, routing and crossconnect in DWDM networks," January
2000
A scanning electron micrograph illustrating Mitel's precision
etching can be viewed at www.mitel.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Mitel Corporation
Jacques Guerette
(613) 592-2122
E-mail: jacques_guerette@mitel.com
Website: www.mitel.com
or
Mitel Semiconductor
Patti Dalby
(613) 592-2122
E-mail: patti_dalby@mitel.com
or
BW&A
Tiana Wiersma
(503) 241-1574
E-mail: tiana@bwapr.com |
