Liquid Crystal Technology Redefines IOCs

Unlike technologies where integrated optical components (IOCs) require multiple masks and fixed tooling, the WaveWalker optical platform promises rapid device reconfiguration to accommodate specific requirements. Employing a patented liquid crystal technology said to be insensitive to shock, vibration, and temperature cycling, the first IOC built on this platform is an eight-channel ROADM (Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer) with integrated switching, attenuation, and thin-film filters. The number of channels in the array and the number of channels to be added, dropped, or blocked can be selected. Optimized for eight channels, the ROADM is scalable from two to 80 channels. The latest generation of optical switches to employ this platform, the 1200 series, promises higher performance at half the size and at reduced cost. The first device in the series, the 1222 1x2 switch, features multi-billion cycle durability and optional integrated attenuation (standard or user-defined) to suit various gain trimming and equalization applications. For further details, contact SPECTRAWITCH INC., Santa Rosa, CA. (707) 568-7000.