Multiplex Goes 40km With 1310nm

SOUTH PLAINFIED, N.J. -- Multiplex, Inc. announced that it has introduced a new 300-pin transponder for intermediate reach 40-kilometer applications. The MTP-I3 represents a unique solution for 40km applications in that its source laser is a 1310nm EML (electro-absorption modulated laser) and its receiver is an APD (avalanche photodiode). (Typically, 40km transponders utilize a 1550nm source laser and PIN receiver.) The result is a 40km transponder solution that is free of dispersion penalty, doesn’t require a high-power source laser and provides clear EML eye performance.

The EML/APD configuration allows the MTP-I3 to achieve a number of performance advantages over more traditional intermediate-reach transponders: power is –2 to +2 dBm (a 1.5 to 2 dB savings over 1550nm-based transponders), APD receiver sensitivity is extremely high (better than

–24 dBm at a bit-error-rate of 1E-12), and it provides system margin of at least 20dB for 40km 1310nm applications. In addition, the MTP-I3 offers exceptionally clear eye pattern performance with low jitter. Packaging is based on Multiplex’s new “flat-top” transponder design, which measures only 2.2” x 3.0” x 0.53” and is 300-pin MSA small-form-factor compliant. This flat-top (as opposed to “finned”) packaging allows for the addition of a customer-designed external heat sink. Other custom transponder housing designs are also available.

Multiplex introduced the MTX310EW, the first commercially available 1310nm EML, more than two years ago. Prior to that, the use of 1310nm lasers for high-speed transmissions was limited to directly modulated Distributed-Feedback (DFB) transmitters exclusively in short-reach applications. The MTX310EW was designed to extend the fiber bandwidth in the "S" Band where the near-zero dispersion property of the fiber is utilized. EMLs also offer longer-reach capabilities when compared to DFBs. By utilizing this 1310nm EML technology, the MTP-I3 transponder eliminates the need to carry two different wavelengths since the same 1310nm technology that is ideal for short-reach is now applicable for 40km use.

“The MTP-I3 provides a higher-performance solution for forty-kilometer applications,” said Chris Peterson, Multiplex’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Aside from significant performance advantages, we have priced this product competitively with the less potent alternatives that are out there.”

Multiplex Inc.