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As a stepping stone to bring integrated CMOS/Thin Film Polymer on Silicon (TFPS) optical devices to the market2, GigOptix, Inc. announced the successful integration of Distributed Feed Back (DFB) laser with silicon based 100Gbps Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) in small form integrated factor.

Precisely, GigOptix integrated its 100Gbps MZM based on TFPs with a 1550nm DFB laser in a small form factor Transmit Optical Sub-Assembly (TOSA). The company’s TFPs, on which 100Gbps MZM are based, are high performance optical technology that can be monolithically integrated with silicon CMOS devices to enable high speed optical communication devices.

As a provider of semiconductor and optical components that enable high speed information streaming, GigOptix has been offering TIAs and TFP optical modulators for 40G and 100G fiber-optic telecommunications and data-communications networks.

According to a press release, the new integrated device was implemented as part of POLYSYS, a European Union (EU) funded research and development program that includes the Fraunhofer (News - Alert) Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) research center for communication systems, digital media and services.

Incorporating many optical component suppliers and European research institutions, the POLYSYS EU funded consortium has an objective to develop photonic and electrical components to enable 400Gbps chip-to-chip and rack-to-rack datacenter solutions.

Eric Miller (News - Alert), GM of GigOptix Bothell, said in a press release, "GigOptix’s TFPS is a highly flexible and scalable optical technology. It is capable not only of realizing high performance 40Gbps DPSK MZMs for long haul optical links, such as our LX8401 solution, but also 100G and 400G datacenter devices as has been demonstrated by the POLYSYS consortium.”

The primary goal of this integration program was to realize a monolithically integrated laser and modulator TOSA solution that will leverage the company’s TFPS electro-optical polymer technology to integrate four lanes of 100Gbps On-Off-Keying (OOK) lanes to implement the 400Gbps link.

GigOptix’s TFPS technology is fully compatible with CMOS backend processes. It is primarily used to realize modulator structures and optical waveguides for optical signal routing. In addition, it enables ultra-low power consumption and easiness of being integrated in small form factor modules. The material properties of TFPs facilitate in the production of 40G and 100G modulator optical chips in similar small footprints.

Some of the bundled solutions and products to be demonstrated by GigOptix include: the LX8220 40G DQPSK TFPS optical modulator with low drive voltage and small form factor, the LX8240 100G DP-QPSK TFPS optical modulator with ultra-small form factor and low drive voltage, the GX62255 low power, integrated dual channel 32Gb/s driver, the HXT/R4101A chipset, and the HXT/R5104 high performance chipset that is used in both 40GBASE-SR4 QSFP transceivers and 40GBAE-LR4 ROSAs.

In other news, GigOptix, Inc. recently introduced a new line of microwave filters for use in Point-to-Point wireless backhaul, Electronic Warfare, or EW, radar, test and measurement equipment applications.