XO Tests Infinera's Coherent 100G Transmission

Infinera and XO Communication have completed a field trial of 100 100G coherent transmission technology.


The tests, which ran over a 1348km route between Denver and Dallas on XO's network, used Infinera's new 500 Gigabit per second (500G) photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which each integrate five 100G channels. The fiber route is built with Infinera's 100G-ready ILS WDM line system, which provides scalable fiber capacity up to 8 Tbps.


During the field trial the ILS system was carrying 10G and 100G channels simultaneously. The 100G channel was transmitted using PM-QPSK modulation and coherent detection to enable error-free unrepeatered transmission over ultra-long haul distances.


Infinera believes this to be the world's first demonstration of 100G coherent transmission using fully integrated optical 500G PICs at both transmitter and receiver, including the use of integrated local oscillators in the PIC receiver.


"We are pleased to support development of Infinera's PIC-based 100G-based systems," said XO Communications Chief Technology Officer Randy Nicklas. "XO Communications looks forward to the increased capacity and superior efficiency we anticipate these 100G systems will deliver, as we work to meet growing bandwidth demands from our enterprise and wholesale service provider and mobile wireless customers."


"This trial marks an important milestone in our plan to deliver 100G communications and the next generation of multi-Terabit per second Digital Optical Networks based on 500G PICs," said Infinera CEO Tom Fallon. "We are confident that these new systems will become a disruptive force in the optical market, just as our 10G systems were when we introduced them in 2004."http://www.infinera.com
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