Intel® Tunable Technology Displaces Fixed-Wavelength Devices



LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24, 2004 – Intel Corporation today launched a telecommunications-grade optical transceiver capable of being tuned across the entire band of channels employed by carriers. The flexibility of the transceiver, which is based on Intel® tunable-laser technology, will enable a dramatic reduction in carriers’ multimillion-dollar replacement inventories and open the door to the use of high-capacity optical technology in a wide variety of new system applications.

Previously, each of the 80 channels in the optical "C-band,” the spectrum used by carriers for metropolitan and long-distance transport, required a transceiver set to a specific frequency. The new 10-Gbps Intel® TXN13600 Tunable Optical Transceiver uses thermal tuning and wavelength-locking technology perfected by Intel to enable precise, stable tuning across the entire C-band.

As a result, designing metropolitan and long-haul transport systems around one modular component, instead of 80 separate devices, reduces development and hardware costs, and simplifies the design job. The reduced cost also makes it possible to extend high-capacity dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology into a wide variety of new telecommunications applications, such as multiservice provisioning platforms and core switches.

“Intel’s new tunable-laser technology is changing the optical-networking game by taking advantage of standards-based modular transceivers to extend the use of DWDM functionality beyond proprietary high-end transmission systems,” said Craig Thompson, marketing director for Intel’s Optical Platform Division. “In addition, by reducing parts inventories, we estimate carriers could cut their multimillion-dollar budgets by 90 percent.”

The unique design of the Intel TXN13600 transceiver results in the lowest power dissipation in the industry at 8 Watts typical. It also integrates a variety of advanced features, such as dynamic control of the receiver decision threshold and unique SBS suppression that enables optimization of link performance without affecting other transmitter characteristics.



Pricing and Availability

The Intel TXN31600 Tunable Optical Transceiver and its independently available tunable laser are currently sampling. The transceiver will be available in production quantities in the second half of 2004 and is priced at $7,000.

“In volume orders, we expect the new transceiver to be priced equivalent to today’ fixed-wavelength transceivers,” Thompson said. “As a result, we expect that full-C-band tunable transceivers will completely displace single-channel devices.”