WAVELENGTH SPACING: IT'S SO FINE

In the ongoing debate over the existence of a bandwidth glut, one assumption is that some parts deep in the core of every service provider's network will always be near the breaking point. In fact, companies such as Sycamore Networks, Juniper Networks and Ciena have based their fortunes on compressing, cajoling and coaxing more capacity out of existing fiber in those networks.

Essex, whose early claim to fame was adding that third brake light in the rear windows of your car, now says it can increase capacity by focusing not on the wavelength itself but on the spacing between wavelengths.

Using a technology called Hyperfine, Essex can reduce the spacing to at least 100 MHz in a real-world environment and is on the verge of narrowing that gap to 40 MHz. Today's state-of-the-art router technology provides 50 GHz of spacing, according to Michael Piacenza, vice president of business development for Essex.

The company is mum on exactly how Hyperfine works — it's still waiting to get patent approval — but it will say how it doesn't work: “It's not a wave guide, it's not grating and it's not an active device,” Piacenza said.

Originally developed as part of a government contract for super high-resolution radar systems, Essex now is marketing the technology to router and test equipment vendors and is in discussion with carriers including Verizon Communications. “We don't displace DWDM,” Piacenza said. “That just becomes a coarse filter to our fine filter.”

Hyperfine, which should be in production mode by the end of this year, will find its first application in the long-distance and core networks. However, Patrick Nettles, executive chairman of Ciena, said he has no doubt routers will move up to 10 Gb/s in some metro networks. “I don't think the narrowly defined DWDM is the answer for the metro,” he said.
— Vince Vittore
www.essexcorp.com