MILPITAS, Calif. -- Big Bear Networks has adopted silicon germanium (SiGe) process technology from IBM Microelectronics for its forthcoming Photronic Signal Processing family of 10- and 40-gigabit-per-second transponder and subassembly products. IBM Microelectronics' high-volume silicon foundry in Burlington, Vt., will serve as the manufacturing facility for the PSP products, which will begin shipping later this year. Big Bear's SiGe-based PSP products will take the form of 10- gigabit subassemblies and transponders for long-haul applications; and 40-gigabit transponders for cross-office, metro core/inter-office facility and long-haul transmission. PSP technology is designed to overcome the impairments that degrade data-transmission signals over fiber-optic links, enabling telecom carriers to deploy longer and faster fiber links with minimum capital and operational expenditure. Dr. John Paul Mattia, Big Bear co-founder and chief technical officer, said Big Bear has been working with IBM for the past 18 months to apply SiGe technology to its PSP product designs. Big Bear has already produced a number of operational 10- and 40-gigabit devices based on the process. "In our early development phase we implemented several designs in both SiGe and InP, initially believing that the inherently higher speeds of InP would be required for high- performance 40G products," Mattia said. "However, after side-by-side comparison, we found that SiGe not only produces circuits that achieve the mandatory high performance, but also lets us easily integrate the active intelligence needed to overcome fiber impairments. Big Bear's unique combination of microwave, analog and digital design techniques, combined with IBM's best-in-class SiGe, yields components that push the performance and reach of fiber links. At the same time we gain the benefits of silicon's economies of scale, reliability and widespread customer acceptance as a mainstream technology, plus IBM's proven high-volume manufacturing capability." Big Bear Networks IBM Corp.