Steve S. & Twisted Pair - AFO Awarded Patent, Fused DWDM Technology
Talk about taking a long time to respond to a post! <G>
Steve -
<Jim's right on the money regarding fibre channel.>
He's been right on the money since I've been reading his posts.
Thanks guys.... Still keeping up.
JW@KSC
(big snip)
(APPLIED-FIBER-OPTICS) AFO Awarded Patent on
All-Fiber, Fused DWDM Technology
Business Editors and High-Tech Writers
FREMONT, Calif.--(BW)--April 1, 1998--AFO, developer
of applied fiber optic solutions for communications applications, Wednesday announced approval of a patent filed on its fused, cascaded fiber (FCF), DWDM technology. The patent covers "an apparatus and method of making a fused, dense wavelength-division multiplexer."
Dense wavelength division multiplexer technologies provide a means of increasing bandwidth without the need to deploy additional costly fiber. Unlike competing DWDM solutions which require thin-film coatings or waveguides, AFO's patented technology uses a fused-biconical taper technique to fuse and cascade the fiber into a series to control the signal. The unique, all-fiber design results in high return loss, high wavelength isolation, low insertion loss and excellent signal-to-noise ratio.
The FCF technology provided the catalyst for the company's formation in 1996 and has been incorporated into two key product designs: the WaveCombiner for fiber amplifiers, a DWDM device which provides 2, 3 or 4 channels and enables a 1/3 increase in transmission distance capacity; and the WaveSplitter, announced at OFC '98, which is a hybrid of the FCF technology and an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder structure, currently used for multiplexing/demultiplexing up to 16 channels. The hybrid technique will easily scale to support 64 channels and beyond.
Jim Campbell, AFO vice president of sales and marketing, said: "We are extremely pleased at the timely issuance of the patent on AFO's DWDM technology. The technique of cascading narrowband couplers to combine or separate wavelengths is fundamental, and it lends itself well to volume manufacturing." He added, "We've had approximately two years in which to concentrate on manufacturability in response to volume demands from the market place."
The patent addresses design and process issues related to the manufacturing of fused biconical taper couplers and the integration and assembly of these couplers into a cascade. The fused, cascaded- fiber approach provides a low loss,inexpensive and reliable narrowband DWDM for high-speed, multi-wavelength transmissions.
AFO designs, develops and manufactures fiber optic couplers, isolators, and DWDM components. Manufacturing, management, marketing and sales take place at the company's headquarters, located at 46758 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538. For more information, contact Jim Campbell at 510/440-9608, Ext. 106 or toll free 888/335-0338, or fax 510/440-9668.
AFO's Web site address is www.afo-wdm.com.
For FULL TEXT see BW High Tech Headlines 4/1/98 |
