Cielo Claims VCSEL Breakthrough

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Cielo Communications, an industry leader in Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology and integrated optical subsystems, today demonstrated the feasibility of developing low-cost, power-efficient and high-density SONET-compliant optical systems, by becoming the first company to successfully construct a full transceiver link using a 1.3 micron VCSEL and transmit error-free data over 20 km of single mode fiber. The SONET-compliant OC-48 Short-Reach (SR) optical transmitter was built with a 1.3 micron VCSEL, commercially available integrated circuits and proprietary optical packaging. The 1.3 micron VCSEL, developed cooperatively by Cielo and Sandia National Laboratories, is the ideal source laser for use in telecommunication optical transmitters. It has been long sought after for this application because of its many advantages over edge-emitting lasers used today. The advantages include faster modulation speeds, easier testing capability, smaller size, lower power consumption and lower device cost. In addition, the 1.3 micron VCSEL delivers cost savings throughout the optical subsystem by leveraging the superior optical emission pattern of the laser and ability to fabricate laser arrays, which simplify manufacturing and packaging processes.

“Based on the VCSEL’s inherent technical advantages, the 1.3 micron VCSEL will obsolete the majority of 1.3 micron edge-emitting lasers used in telecommunications today. Our achievement is a major milestone in demonstrating the capability of the 1.3 micron VCSEL to deliver the performance required in SONET applications,” said Bob Mayer, Cielo’s vice president of marketing. “The optical power, wavelength and spectral purity have been the major hurdles for 1.3 micron VCSEL technology; we are excited about our optical transmitter, since it exceeds these OC-48 SR requirements with considerable margin.”

http://www.cieloinc.com