Nortel Networks and Uniphase Announce Extension of Winning
Combination
to Meet Pump Laser Demand for Increased Amplifier Power
PAIGNTON, U.K. and SAN JOSE, CA, Jan. 21 /CNW/ - Nortel
Networks, (NYSE: NT/TSE: NTL) Optoelectronics Division and
Uniphase Corporation (NASDAQ:UNPH) today announced that they
have extended their joint long-standing, high-power
980-nanometer pump laser supply agreement in response to the
rapidly growing demand from the fiberoptic networking industry
for optical amplifier power. The extended contract is for an
additional three years and has an anticipated annual value to
Uniphase in excess of US$10 million.
This demand is driven by the introduction of dense
wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, which are
capable of transmitting over one hundred gigabits/second
(Gb/s), in a single fiber. Such systems require higher
amplifier output power to accommodate their higher channel
counts, and closer amplifier spacing along the link. Uniphase
and Nortel Networks have seen market demand for the 980-nm
lasers more than double over the past year because of rapid
growth in the optical amplifier market, and a growing trend of
using as many as six high power pump lasers per amplifier.
The Nortel Networks/Uniphase collaboration has supplied the
optical amplifier market with outstanding pump laser
reliability for five years. Nortel Networks' pump laser
modules, which incorporate Uniphase's chip, have a field
failure rate equivalent to only one device each 10 million
accumulated device hours. The mean-time-to-failure of
Uniphase's laser chip exceeds two million hours of continuous
operation at rated operating conditions.
Nortel Networks' Optoelectronics Division and Uniphase have
further expanded the product portfolio to include the fiber
Bragg grating-stabilized pump modules specifically targeting
the DWDM amplifier market. |
