Corning Fiber Carries 100G for 1,500km in 12 Spans

Corning has demonstrated the ability to carry 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps over longer fiber spans without using expensive regeneration.



The 100G system travels a distance of 1,500 km and consists of 12 spans, each 125 km. The configuration uses Corning's SMF-28 ULL optical fiber, the lowest attenuation ITU-T G.652-compliant fiber, and Ciena's 100G Adaptive Optical Engine, both of which are commercially available. The average fiber attenuation of each span is at or below 0.17 decibels of loss per kilometer (dB/km) at 1550 nanometers (nm). The ultra-low attenuation of SMF-28 ULL fiber enables 30-35 percent longer system reach compared to typical single-mode fibers.


At this week's OFC/NFOEC conference in San Diego, the companies will also demonstrate Ciena's newly developed 40G ultra long haul solution over an unregenerated distance of 3,100 km using Corning long-haul optical fibers. Ciena's 40G signal will be transmitted through 1,600 km of Corning's LEAF fiber and 1,500 km of SMF-28 ULL fiber, in a configuration representative of some of the most challenging long-distance network designs.


Finally, the companies will also demonstrate 100G performance over 800 km of Corning LEAF fiber, the most widely deployed non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. LEAF fiber has the lowest attenuation and largest effective area of any ITU-T G.655-compatible optical fiber, enabling 20-25 percent greater system reach compared to typical G.655 fiber. The average LEAF fiber attenuation of each span is at or below 0.190 dB/km at 1,550 nm.
http://www.corning.com/opticalfiber