Feb 19 2008
JDSU today announced availability of a new wavelength selective switch (WSS) product called the Mini WSS. Half the size of typical WSS offerings, the Mini WSS is designed to provide a compact and low cost solution for traffic management in the metro and access areas of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks. Increased use of voice, video and data applications among consumers has placed strains on network bandwidth, pushing the need for agile optical technology all the way from the core infrastructure to the outer edge of networks.
JDSU’s new Mini WSS technology incorporates all of the critical functions required for network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers to remotely add and drop network capacity or dynamically change a wavelength’s path based on demand, without manual intervention or rebalancing of the network. Its compact size makes it a “single slot” solution that saves shelf space on equipment racks, in turn reducing real estate costs within data centers. Its WSS technology provides colorless switching, or the ability to direct wavelengths from and to any port. It is scalable from 1X2 to 1X9 applications.
“As bandwidth demands continue to grow, network operators are looking for optical solutions that provide reconfigurability and tunability all the way throughout the network,” said Jy Bhardwaj, vice president and general manager of Agile Optical Networks at JDSU. “JDSU’s new Mini WSS has been developed and packaged in a way to meet cost and size requirements vital for implementing more agility closer to the network edge.”
Within the Mini WSS lies an array of electronically controllable micro electromechanical mirrors (MEMS), which act as the switching element between the input and chosen output port of the device. The MEMS array is fabricated using the latest multi-step photolithography and chemical processes on a silicon wafer and provides a robust solution for optical wavelength routing.
The WSS switching technology is one of JDSU’s three ROADM-enabling technologies. In addition, JDSU offers planar lightwave circuit (PLC) and wavelength blocker technology to address various market needs. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 (October through December, 2007), JDSU shipped 2,500 ROADMs.
The JDSU Mini WSS will be displayed at JDSU Booth #2021 during the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) in San Diego, CA from February 26 – 28, 2008.