Tropic Measures Chromatic Dispersion in Metro Optical Networks

Tropic Networks, which specializes in metro regional ROADM systems, announced a new means to measure chromatic dispersion in fiber networks. The new Wavelength Tracker technology enables Tropic to characterize the loss characteristics of each wavelength across an entire network, providing carriers with a chromatic dispersion map of their networks and enabling them to adapt as needed. Chromatic dispersion limits the optical network reach and data rate that the network can support. The issue becomes increasing critical at higher transmission, especially 40 Gbps.



Tropic Networks already offered the capability to uniquely identify wavelengths (including multiple instances of the same ITU grid wavelength) and provide colorless add/drops on its ROADM modules.



"Having the ability to measure and adjust automatically for chromatic dispersion in-service will reduce network costs as the need for wide-range, per-wavelength tunable compensation is eliminated. It will enable the use of lower-cost, pluggable DWDM XFPs on directly-connected client devices that have lower dispersion tolerances. It will allow for automatic network "tuning" as we move to broader optical mesh deployments and to 40G transmission speeds," said Rob Lane, Vice President, Sales and Marketing.



Tropic noted that traditional methods of accurately compensating for chromatic dispersion typically involve measuring every fiber span in a optical network individually using external dispersion measurement equipment, and applying pre-defined bulk dispersion compensation modules at pre-determined points in the optical network. More recently, 40 Gbps transponder suppliers have been developing per-transponder tunable dispersion compensation, which drives up transponder costs.



New software for Tropic's existing hardware measures the difference in the arrival time of wavelengths through the fiber. This enables Tropic to fully characterize the plant for both loss and chromatic dispersion, thereby allowing the use lower-cost transponders at both 10 Gbpss and 40 Gbps.

http://www.tropicnetworks.com

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Fujitsu Shows 10Gbps Ethernet Switch Chip

Fujitsu Microelectronics America (FMA) is showcasing its 65-nanometer process technology and 10Gbps Ethernet switch at this week's DesignCon in Santa Clara, California. Fujitsu's 65nm process technology integrates 11 interconnect layers and uses advanced copper and porous low-k dielectric materials to increase device signal speeds and reduce power consumption. Fujitsu's single-chip, 20-port, 10 Gbps Ethernet switch chip supports a direct, 10Gbps serial interface to XFP optical modules, providing a solution for network server, blade server and storage applications. The switch chip delivers 400+Gbps, non-blocking, aggregate switching bandwidth through 3Mbytes of proprietary, multi-stream shared buffer memory, with the on-chip 10Gbps serial SerDes.

http://www.fma.fujitsu.com/

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Bivio Networks Unveils 10 Gbps Deep Packet Inspection Appliance

Bivio Networks, a start-up based in Pleasanton, California, is expanding its family of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) appliances with the introduction of the Bivio 7000 Series and Bivio 6500 Series platforms.



The new Bivio 7000 Series and Bivio 6500 Series network appliance platforms deliver 10 Gbps deep packet inspection capabilities starting at price points below $10,000. Bivio's new platforms enable both standard-Linux and custom application development and integration within the widely adopted BivOS networking and management execution environment.



The platforms are targeted at security application vendors, network equipment manufacturers, federal government agencies needing to deploy high-performance platforms that can support security applications such as network monitoring, analysis, surveillance, content filtering, and leak prevention as well as service providers offering policy-centric managed security, storage, voice, and mobility services to large financial and enterprise customers.



The Bivio 7000 Series is designed for customers that have developed Linux-based networking applications with demanding packet processing requirements. The appliance uses parallel application execution engines to provide massive packet processing capabilities in a 2U chassis form factor.



The Bivio 6500 Series of network appliance platforms are designed specifically for custom application development within a non-Linux operating environment. As with all Bivio products, the Bivio 6500 features the BiviOS operating system that provides management capabilities.



Both the Bivio 7000 Series and Bivio 6500 Series will be available in early Q2 2007.

http://www.bivio.net

• In August 2006, Bivio secured $8.5 million in venture capital funding. Silver Creek Ventures led the round with participation from Bivio's current investors, InterWest Partners, Storm Ventures, Venrock Associates, and Goldman Sachs.

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Broadcom Wins Second Patent Case Against Qualcomm

A federal jury in San Diego ruled that Broadcom did not infringe two patents for digital video compression owned by QUALCOMM.



"This is a victory not just for Broadcom but for the entire digital video community, against an attempt by Qualcomm once again to tax an important new technology -- in this instance based upon the claims of a single patent. The trial not only showed that Qualcomm was wrong about Broadcom's alleged infringement, but also cast a bright light on Qualcomm's penchant for abusing the rules and procedures of industry standards-making bodies," said David A. Dull, Broadcom's Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

http://www.broadcom.com

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Global Telecom Market Grew 11% in 2006 to $3 Trillion

The U.S. market grew 9.3 percent in 2006 to total $923 billion in revenue, and the worldwide telecommunications market grew 11.2% to total $3 trillion, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA's) 2007 Telecommunications Market Review and Forecast.



In 2006, cable modems and DSL continued to dominate the U.S. market, capturing 96 percent of the broadband market, which in 2005 overtook dial-up access service. More than 12 million miles of fiber were deployed in 2006, up 9.1 percent from 2005, with nearly 10 million miles being deployed by the telephone companies. Though accounting for just 10 percent of U.S. wireless revenue in 2006, wireless data and multimedia services are forecast to make up 24 percent of all wireless revenue by 2010. Growth is also expected in VoIP, which is forecast to make up 34 percent of all U.S. residential landlines by 2010, or 25.5 million subscribers, up from just 10 percent and 9.5 million subscribers in 2006.



Worldwide, Europe has the largest telecommunications market, measuring at $1 trillion, with the U.S. second at $923 billion and Asia/Pacific third at $715 billion. Overall, the international market grew 12.1 percent in 2006. Middle East/Africa was the fastest- growing region, expanding at 21.6 percent. By 2010, the global market is expected to reach $4.3 trillion in revenue.



"Consumers are thirsty for broadband, and this report shows carriers are rushing to meet the demand," said Grant Seiffert, TIA president. "Technologies like VoIP and broadband video, as well as new mobile data services, are sparking new growth in the telecommunications industry. As a result, carriers are offering more competitive all-in-one bundled packages, and consumers are seeing lower prices and more services."http://www.tiaonline.org

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Motorola's Ed Zander to Join Time Warner's Board

Time Warner has elected Edward Zander, Motorola's Chairman and CEO, to join its Board of Directors. Time Warner also elected Jeffrey L. Bewkes, its President and COO, to join the Board.
http://www.timewarner.com

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Analog Devices and Legend Silicon Open Design Lab in Shanghai

Analog Devices and Legend Silicon Corp., a leading supplier of silicon solutions for broadband wireless broadcasting, have opened a joint design laboratory to develop reference designs for China's emerging mobile TV market. The collaboration combines Legend's demodulator technology with ADI's low-power RF tuners.



The design lab, which is located in Shanghai, adjacent to the Fudan University campus, will provide complete front-end solutions, from the antenna through the tuner to the demodulator to the MPEG2 TS interface.



Target applications include portable media players, PDAs, laptop PCs, automotive displays and smart phones that can receive terrestrial digital TV broadcasts.

http://www.analog.com

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IBM and Partners Announces Transistor Design Advancement

IBM, working in partnership with AMD, Sony and Toshiba, announced its own advancement in "high-k metal gate" transistor technology. The material provides superior electrical properties compared to its existing designs, enhancing the transistor's function while also allowing the size of the transistor to be shrunk beyond limits being reached today.



"Until now, the chip industry was facing a major roadblock in terms of how far we could push current technology," said Dr. T.C. Chen, vice president of Science and Technology, IBM Research. "After more than ten years of effort, we now have a way forward. With chip technology so pervasive in our everyday lives, this work will benefit people in many ways."



IBM said it will able to apply the technology to products with chip circuits as small as 45 nanometers starting in 2008.

http://www.ibm.com

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Intel Announces High-k Breakthrough in Transistor Design

Intel announced a breakthrough that significantly reduces transistor leakage and increases performance in its 45nm process technology.



Described as one of the biggest advancements in fundamental transistor design in forty years, Intel said the use of new materials with "high-k" properties will enable hundreds of millions of transistors to be included in its next generation Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Quad and Xeon families of multi-core processors. The company also said it has five early-version products up and running -- the first of fifteen 45nm processor products planned from Intel.



Intel believes it has extended its lead of more than a year over the rest of the semiconductor industry with the first working 45nm processors of its next-generation 45nm family of products -- codenamed "Penryn."



"The implementation of high-k and metal materials marks the biggest change in transistor technology since the introduction of polysilicon gate MOS transistors in the late 1960s," said Intel Co-Founder Gordon Moore.



Intel said its breakthrough centers on the transistor gate dielectric -- an insulator underneath the gate that separates it from the channel where current flows. Silicon dioxide has been used to make the transistor gate dielectric for more than 40 years because of its manufacturability and ability to deliver continued transistor performance improvements as it has been made ever thinner.
Intel has successfully shrunk the silicon dioxide gate dielectric to as little as 1.2nm thick -- equal to five atomic layers -- on its previous 65nm process technology, but the continued shrinking has led to increased current leakage through the gate dielectric, resulting in wasted electric current and unnecessary heat.



To solve this critical issue, Intel replaced the silicon dioxide with a thicker hafnium-based high-k material in the gate dielectric, reducing leakage by more than 10 times compared to the silicon dioxide used for more than four decades. Because the high-k gate dielectric is not compatible with today's silicon gate electrode, the second part of Intel's 45nm transistor material recipe is the development of new metal gate materials. While the specific metals that Intel uses remains secret, the company will use a combination of different metal materials for the transistor gate electrodes.

http://www.intel.com

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MRV to Acquire Fiberxon and Take Luminent Public

MRV Communications announced plans to acquire Fiberxon, a supplier of transceivers for Metro, Access, and PON applications, for approximately $131 million in a combination of cash and stock.



Following the closing of the transaction, MRV intends on combining Fiberxon with Luminent, its wholly-owned subsidiary, which also supplies metro transceivers and transceivers for fiber-to-the- premise (FTTP) deployments.



MRV then plans an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Luminent.



The proposed public offering by Luminent will not occur until after MRV completes the Fiberxon acquisition, Inc., which is expected during the first half of 2007. The company said the actual timing of the offering and whether Luminent undertakes it in 2007 or 2008 will depend on a number of factors, including the general condition of the securities markets.



Fiberxon is based in Santa Clara, California, and has product development and manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China. The company supplies a broad portfolio of metro, access, EPON and GPON transceivers.
According to Fiberxon, its unaudited 2006 revenues are expected to be in the range of $45 to $48 million.



Luminent, with facilities in Chatsworth, California and Hsinchu, Taiwan, has pioneered the field of triplexer transceivers for video, voice and data triple play service. The company is a leading supplier of optical transceivers for BPON FTTP deployments with over 1 million units shipped to date. Luminent has also shipped over 100,000 GPON transceivers globally in 2006.

http://www.luminentoic.com

http://www.fiberxon.com

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