AT&T And LaserComm Team Up to Achieve a Major Breakthrough in Broadband Optical Transmission.Business Editors, Hi-Tech WritersBALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000 AT&T Labs, the research arm of AT&T (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :T), and LaserComm Inc. today announced a breakthrough in developing next-generation high-bandwidth long-haul optical networks. Using LaserComm's proprietary Hi-Mode Dispersion Management Device(TM) (DMD (1) (Digital Micromirror Device) See DLP. (2) (Digital Multi-layer Disk) See high-def DVD formats. ), the two companies were able to achieve 40 nm-wide wave division multiplexing (spelling) wave division multiplexing - A common misnomer for wavelength division multiplexing. (WDM (1) (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) A technology that uses multiple lasers and transmits several wavelengths of light (lambdas) simultaneously over a single optical fiber. ) transmission of broadband 40 Gbps signals over a distance of 240km. Chromatic dispersion See dispersion. and dispersion slope - the tendency for light to spread out as it passes through a medium are major obstacles in the implementation of next-generation broadband dense wave-division multiplexing (DWDM (Dense WDM) The term given to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) when significantly more channels were being added. Since WDM is increasingly more "dense" all the time, both terms are used synonymously. See WDM. DWDM - wavelength division multiplexing ) systems transmission above 2.5 Gbps. Today's solution, dispersion compensating fiber, cannot solve dispersion slope, leading to complicated and expensive trimming of individual channels. LaserComm's Hi-Mode DMD uses a novel, elegant method of wideband dispersion compensation capable of correcting all wavelengths of light simultaneously with minimal loss and without exciting nonlinear effects. The DMD's advantageous performance has been successfully validated in AT&T's advanced broadband 40Gbps transmission testing system. "Overcoming the limitations of dispersion and dispersion slope is critical for enabling broadband long-haul transmission," explained Bob Tkach, Division Manager of the Lightwave Networks Research department at AT&T Labs. "The performance of LaserComm's device was well above our expectations. This is the first device to provide full dispersion slope compensation on non-zero dispersion shifted fiber." In the experiment, eight laser sources from 1525nm to 1565nm, each modulated at 40 Gbps, were simultaneously transmitted through 240 km of non-zero dispersion shifted fiber (NZDSF NZDSF Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber (BTI, aka Lambda-Shifted Fiber) ) comprising three equal segments with in-line optical amplifiers. The unique aspect of this test was that a single Hi Mode DMD simultaneously compensated the different dispersions of all eight wavelengths for each segment. "We could not have validated the extent of our device's capabilities without AT&T's collaboration and their advanced testing system," says Dan Acton, President of LaserComm. "Based on the outcome of this common effort we can now present the industry with the first ever broadband chromatic dispersion solution for 40 Gbps transmission." About AT&T Labs AT&T (http://www.att.com) is among the premier voice and data communications data communications, application of telecommunications technology to the problem of transmitting data, especially to, from, or between computers. In popular usage, it is said that data communications make it possible for one computer to "talk" with another. companies, serving more than 80 million customers, including consumers, businesses and government. With annual revenues of more than $53 billion and 149,000 employees, AT&T provides services to customers worldwide. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network The transmission channels interconnecting all client and server stations as well as all supporting hardware and software. and has the largest digital wireless network in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . The company is a leading supplier of data and Internet services for businesses and offers outsourcing, consulting and networking-integration to large businesses. It also has the nation's largest direct Internet access service for consumers. Through its recent cable acquisitions, AT&T will bring its bundle of broadband video, voice and data services to customers throughout the United States. Internationally, the AT&T/British Telecom Global Venture will serve the communications needs of multinational companies and international carriers worldwide. About LaserComm LaserComm, a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. , is a leader in developing photonic components for fiber optic networks. The Company was founded in 1998, with US headquarters in Plano, Texas and a research and development subsidiary in Tel Aviv, Israel. LaserComm recently closed a $15 million round of financing, speeding the Company's development of next-generation optical networking technology. LaserComm is constructing a manufacturing plant in Plano, Texas, where the Company will manufacture its own products. More information about LaserComm can be found at http://www.lasercomm-inc.com |
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