CITY LIGHTS

The tunable laser market is full of competitors, but Bandwidth9 has picked a specific area in which to make its mark: the metro market. And though the company's latest tunable optical transmitter measures just 2 inches by 3 inches, the MetroFlex G2 is designed to pack a powerful punch.

The MetroFlex G2 module provides users with flexibility in designing DWDM systems to fit carriers' varied network needs. “We went for the smallest form factor, the most popular data rate deployed today, and for an output power that was consistent with the applications that we see in the market today,” said Tim Richardson, executive vice president of business development for Bandwidth9.

The company uses MEMS technology so that it can tune across many spectrum frequencies rather than reflect off a single wavelength. Tunable lasers help networks adjust to varying bandwidth demands because of the ability to deploy flexible fiber. They also make architectures more three-dimensional: Instead of going just point-to-point, a tunable laser can sit at each point of a ring and detect the specific color of light.

“You can actually determine what information is being sent by what location by changing the color of light,” Richardson said.

The G2 also is designed to provide a wide range of tuning options, ranging from eight to 20 ITU channels at 100 GHz spacing and 16 to 40 ITU channels at 50 GHz spacing. “We're all quite different in what we're optimized to serve and do,” Richardson said.
— Amalia D. Parthenios
www.bw9.com