Oclaro Delivers Industry's First Family Of Intra-Node Amplifiers For Next Generation ROADM Network Architectures

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR), a tier-one provider and innovator of optical communications and laser solutions, today announced the industry's first family of amplifiers targeted directly at off-setting losses inside the nodes of next generation ROADM (reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer) network architectures that will carry 100 Gbps, 400 Gbps and 1 Tbps channels.  Losses inside the node have steadily increased as node architectures have evolved in complexity, and Oclaro is the first company to target this problem with a family of intra-node amplifiers, which are built on its successful OASIS™ platform. These amplifiers are aimed at maximizing the overall network performance while also meeting the stringent space and power constraints of next generation node designs.

Next generation networks will bring increased agility and asset utilization through architectures that enable high degrees of colorless, directionless and contentionless routing of wavelengths in the optical domain. These increased demands on optical routing and connectivity within the node are creating losses that affect the overall network performance and can lead to significant limitations in the size of the optical network that can be supported without regeneration.  By utilizing Oclaro's new intra-node amplifiers, network equipment manufacturers can maintain the network performance and allow installation on existing fiber plants while minimizing footprint, power consumption and heat dissipation.

"With the broadest portfolio of products targeted directly at the core optical network, Oclaro is able to leverage its expertise to address critical design challenges posed by the more complex node architectures required for higher bit rate networks," said Dr. Terry Unter, President and General Manager of the Oclaro Optical Networks Solutions Business Unit.   "By using these new amplifiers, our customers can now integrate amplification within the node, where space and power are at a premium, to enable higher bit rate wavelengths without compromising overall network performance."

"Oclaro continues to deliver the technology innovation for the core optical network that will help drive the growth of the 100 Gbps market, which we expect to be a nearly $2 billion market by 2016," said Daryl Inniss, Vice President and Practice Leader of Components Telecoms at Ovum.  "These higher bit rate networks have become increasingly complex as manufacturers continue to add more features while expanding the capacity. Such complexity results in higher node losses, which limit the network performance and may prevent installation on existing fiber plants.  We think these amplifiers will be important tools to offset these higher losses while fitting onto the very dense line cards that we see today."

Oclaro's new family of intra-node amplifiers is leveraging Oclaro's vertical integration strategy by using Oclaro's recently announced uncooled compact pumps and dual-chip 980 nm pump lasers.  The uncooled 980 nm pumps offer up to 500 mW of output power from a 10-pin butterfly package. The dual-chip pumps feature a single 14-pin package that replaces two 600 mW discrete pumps, which significantly lowers the total module power consumption. These pump lasers therefore allow for simplified control electronics and reduced component count, while also reducing the space and power required by the optical amplifiers.

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