Teem Ships Improved EDWA Array

Teem Photonics, a provider of ultra-compact photonics solutions for high bandwidth optical networks, today announced it has begun shipping a new version of its EDWA Array[TM]. The EDWA Array features a newly-optimized waveguide configuration and higher power conversion efficiency of four erbium-doped waveguide amplifiers integrated into one tiny package, just 135x22x17mm.

The announcement follows the industry¹s positive response to Teem Photonics array waveguide based optical amplifier. Teem Photonics¹ ability to move from one to four integrated amplifiers per substrate demonstrates how the company¹s integrated optics offer scalability and volume production advantages. The company will be previewing an eight- channel version at ECOC 2001.

The EDWA (erbium-doped waveguide amplifier) arrays address the problems faced by system manufacturers as they develop the next generation of optical transport systems. Increasing optical complexity leads to increased component losses, but erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are too bulky to meet the equipment space constraints that carriers demand. Teem Photonics¹ EDWA arrays have an extremely small footprint and can easily address the loss issues in large photonic crossconnects and other optical switch fabrics.

"The availability of Teem¹s EDWA Array clearly demonstrates the gap between our planar waveguide technology and alternatives," said Teem Photonics CEO Antoine Kévorkian. "Cooking for four is not much more complicated than cooking for one, and it¹s the same when we bake our amplifier substrates. All that is needed to make a complete amplifier module is the addition of pump lasers and a small number of other external components, but these are stages suitable for volume production, and nothing compared to the difficulties facing EDFA and micro-optics vendors when they want to scale their products."

Any application that requires boosting the power level on several channels on separate fibers or multiple wavelength channels on several fibers in a tight space will benefit from the EDWA array. Gains of 15 dB have already been achieved and Teem expects to improve this performance in the near future. Individual pump power control allows for channel balancing. In addition, Teem Photonics¹ EDWAs have the low polarization dependence and noise of conventional EDFAs, but in a fraction of the space.

Teem Photonics