Ciena announced it is extending the market reach of its WaveLogic coherent modem technology by making it available to a number of industry participants, with optical component companies Lumentum, NeoPhotonics and Oclaro to leverage WaveLogic technology to develop coherent optical modules for a range of applications.
Additionally, each of the companies will join an ecosystem that will focus on standards-based product development, designed to provide customer choice in the emerging 400 Gbit/s pluggable market, which is being driven by increasing data centre interconnect (DCI) requirements.
In addition, under the agreement the partner companies will contribute to the ongoing development of 400 Gbit/s pluggable technologies and the establishing of specifications for adoption by relevant industry forums and standards-setting bodies. Ciena intends to invest in further developing coherent DSP technology, which its partners will then be able to utilise in the development of 400 Gbit/s pluggable modem solutions for hardware and systems vendors.
Lumentum, NeoPhotonics and Oclaro will also support the creation of a roadmap for future generations of coherent optical modules based on Ciena’s WaveLogic technology.
Separately, Oclaro announced it has been selected by Ciena as a partner for the development of 400 Gbit/s coherent networks leveraging Ciena’s 56 Gbaud WaveLogic Ai coherent DSP chipset. The technology will be used to develop programmable modules supporting up to 400 Gbit/s rates.
Oclaro stated that it expects to sample its first 400 Gbit/s flex coherent transponders based on the WaveLogic Ai DSP chipset by the end of the year. The device will feature a single wavelength transmitter in a 5 x 7 inch form factor designed to support flexible bandwidth for 400, 300, 200 and 100 Gbit/s applications.