CIP launches 100Gbps 2R regenerator

March 24, 2017

UK-based telecoms equipment maker, CIP Technologies, has released a 100Gbps version of its 2R (reamplification and reshaping) regenerator for optical networks.

The device regenerates RZ (return to zero) signals in high-speed optical networks.

It integrates an array of the company’s high speed nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA-XN) with planar silica Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs).

This combination of components increases the signal regeneration of CIP’s 2R device from 40Gbps to 100Gbps whilst retaining multi-channel capability.

Although compact (9cm x 3cm x 1cm), the device delivers a practical dual channel building block for configuring advanced optical networking systems.

As well as regeneration, the device can perform a range of functions, including wavelength conversions to extend the flexibility of the system for network system developers, and optical logic functions.

A combination of planar silica and indium phosphide (InP) component technologies are used to deliver optimal performance.

Planar single-mode waveguides with splitter/colmbiner elements are configured to create a balanced MZI and a monolithically integrated array of four nonlinear SOA-XNs.

Improved performance of the SOA-XN allows the device to be switched with lower input optical powers that were previously possible, enabling simpler high-speed experimentation.

Custom versions of the device are also available, including devices with push-pull time delays and all-optical XOR logic gates.