Dual micro integrable tunable laser touted by EMCORE

Optical component and module vendor EMCORE Corp. (NASDAQ: EMKR) used last month’s ECOC event in Cannes, France to launch a dual micro-Integrable Tunable Laser Assembly (ITLA) for coherent transmission applications. The device is sampling and should be commercially available in the first quarter of 2015, according to the company.

Micro-ITLAs are a key component for next-generation coherent transmission (see "EMCORE micro-ITLA tunable laser reaches volume production" or listen to "Micro-ITLAs as enablers of next-generation coherent 100G"). As its name implies, the dual micro-ITLA combines a pair of devices in a single package that is 25% smaller than two conventional micro-ITLAs together. It also requires less power than a pair of conventional devices.

The dual micro-ITLA leverages EMCORE’s proprietary cooled external cavity laser (ECL) technology. The company asserts this ECL ITLA technology has been the most widely used tunable laser source for 100- and 400-Gbps coherent transmission systems because of its narrow linewidth, low noise, and frequency accuracy.

"Over 300,000 ITLAs and micro-ITLAs combined have been deployed in the field, carrying live traffic over the most advanced high-speed coherent networks in the world. The new dual micro-ITLA continues our leadership in tunable laser technology for demanding high-performance telecom applications," asserted Dr. L.C. Chiu, executive vice president and general manager of EMCORE’s Fiber Optics Division.

"The dual micro-ITLA leverages the advanced performance capabilities of the micro-ITLA and enables even higher integration levels, while continuing to provide our customers a highly differentiated tunable laser platform," added Jaime Reloj, EMCORE's vice president of business development.

The dual micro-ITLA is configurable for specific customer applications and comes with a standard ITLA RS-232 digital user interface. Additional standard features include a grid-agnostic channel plan, off-grid tuning, and in-operation power and frequency adjustment capability.

For more information on tunable lasers and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.