GigOptix announces first commercial samples of 40Gb/s electro-optical polymer modulators to major telecom OEMs

PALO ALTO, USA: GigOptix Inc., a leading provider of electronic and electro- optic components for the optically connected digital world, announced that the Company has sampled its LX8400, a 40G DPSK Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM), to a Tier-1 telecom systems manufacturer in Asia.

This marks the next step in GigOptix’ progressive plans to commercialize its 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s modulators with different modulation formats during 2010.

This engagement signifies the first commercial sampling of thin film polymer on silicon modulators for a telecom application. More specifically, this represents the first of the GigOptix’ modulator products to be sampled to a major telecom customer.

The announcement is the culmination of nearly 8 years of development of the electro-optic thin film on silicon technology to create electro-optical polymer modulators that will set new performance thresholds for our industry and support 25 years of reliable operation at 850C. GigOptix expects to leverage this engagement along with its recently announced partnership with Sanmina-SCI to bring electro-optical polymer modulators to the telecom market in 2010.

“We are very excited to be engaged with a major Tier-1 telecom systems manufacturer,” states Raluca Dinu, Vice President & GM GigOptix Bothell.

“Our modulators are nearly half the size of competing Lithium Niobate products, have equivalent or better optical and RF performance, and satisfy the required reliability standards of the industry. Since the modulator size generally determines the transponder size, our modulators can now enable much smaller 40G and 100G transponder form factors. This is a significant breakthrough within the telecom industry as telecom system manufacturers try to squeeze more ports onto their equipment chassis.”

In their most recent forecast for Wide Area Network (WAN) optical components, Ovum projected that the total available market for external optical modulators will be $140 million in 2010 and more than double to $300 million in 2015.

Of this amount more than 80 percent or $250 million is forecasted to be at 40Gb/s and above. Additionally, modulators will be required beyond the telecom market in defense, aerospace and supercomputing applications whose market size could potentially be equally as significant. The GigOptix thin-film polymer on silicon modulators have superior qualities at low temperature and under radiation which make them highly attractive.