Fujitsu to Release World's First XFP-type 10 Gbps DWDM Optical Transceiver

Tokyo, January 18, 2006

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories Limited today announced the joint development of the world's first commercial 10 Gigabit Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP)-type optical transceiver for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). The transceiver will make it possible to develop and manufacture smaller, less expensive, high-speed DWDM optical transmission equipment. The transceiver will be available March 31, 2006.

With ever-increasing demand for broadband access bandwidth and a proliferation in the number of networked application and services, backbone networks and corporate networks can expect a dramatic increase in traffic volume. Accordingly, there is a market need for optical transceivers that can support high-capacity, ultra-reliable optical networks capable of withstanding extreme traffic volume.

The XFP-type of optical transceiver is the smallest transceiver within the 10 Gbps Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) optical module international industry standard, and one notable for having pluggable optical and electrical interfaces. This has made XFP the popular choice of a number of companies for development as a next-generation 10 Gbps optical transceiver.

In addition to the general difficulty of miniaturizing optical transceiver units, commercializing an XFP optical transceiver with DWDM specifications has previously been an insurmountable challenge. Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories have now solved this problem by their successful development of three key technological innovations:

1. An original, compact transceiver circuit;
2. A low-power-consuming optical device and high-efficiency heat dissipation mechanism;
3. High-frequency/high-density mounting technology.

Incorporating these technologies, the new XFP-type DWDM optical transceiver by Fujitsu has the same optical transmission equipment interface as conventional XFP transceivers, and can be plugged directly into existing optical equipment.

Features

1. First XFP-type optical transceiver compliant with DWDM transmission specifications.

By using Fujitsu's original compact optical transmission circuit and high-frequency /high-density mounting technology, the transceiver packs the DWDM performance of bulkier models into a product one-fifth their size (78.0 x 18.4 x 8.5 mm), placing it on par with the size of other XFP modules. This makes it the world's smallest DWDM optical transceiver capable of 10 Gbps data rates.

2. Low-power consumption contribute to high-density optical transceiver design

By incorporating a low-power-consuming optical device and an efficient heat dissipating mechanism, the new transceiver consumes roughly 40% less power compared to conventional DWDM transceivers (4 Watts or less), reducing heat generation and thereby enabling higher mounting densities.

3. Multi-rate support in the 10 Gbps band for flexible system configuration

The new XFP transceiver supports both SONET and similar communications equipment (operating at 9.95 Gbps) and 10 Gbps Ethernet data communications equipment (operating at 10.3 Gbps).

4. Pluggable optical and electrical interfaces

With an optical interface that maintains optical characteristics when being plugged and unplugged, and an electrical interface circuit that allows hot-plugging, the new unit is easy to swap with existing XFP transceivers.

Samples of Fujitsu's new transceiver will be exhibited at the 6th annual Fiber Optics Expo (FOE2006), running from January 18 to 20, 2006 at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

With the commercial introduction of this XFP 10 Gbps DWDM optical transceiver, Fujitsu will offer a rich lineup of 10 Gbps optical transceivers with transmission ranges from 2 km to 80 km in order to flexibly meet diverse customer needs.

For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/global/services/telecom/optcompo/