Azna LLC Announces 200km 10Gbps Transmission with Directly Modulated CMDM Lasers.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

OFC 2004

WILMINGTON, Mass,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2004

Azna LLC, the leading developer of CMDM (Chirp Managed Directly Modulated) lasers has announced a 10Gbps breakthrough for directly modulated lasers. The AZNA team has demonstrated 10Gbps transmission over more than 200km of fiber without the need for dispersion compensation. A power penalty of less than 2.5dB with respect to a standard receiver baseline was demonstrated for a 200km link. This breakthrough exceeds the performance of EML-based and LiNbO3 externally modulated transmitters including the use of duobinary coding. The CMDM technology uses standard DFB laser chips, but solves the inherent chirp problem associated with the direct modulation of these lasers. This solution enables a virtual dispersion-immune transmission network. The physical design of the CMDM laser is compatible with both standard butterfly packages as well as XFP and SFP transceiver designs.

"Our prospective customers like the product since the CMDM laser technology achieves more while reducing complexity", said Parviz Tayebati, CEO and cofounder of Azna LLC. "The overall transmission equipment cost and footprint for network deployments and for network upgrades will be significantly reduced. CMDM lasers will enable the displacement of expensive compensated EML-based and LiNbO3 transmission systems, and because of the high-level of dispersion immunity, service providers receive the bonus of network flexibility." added Tayebati.

Azna LLC (www.aznallc.com)was cofounded in September, 2002 by a number of senior management previously with Nortel, Lucent, Opnext, and Ortel with operations in Los Angeles and in Boston. Parviz Tayebati who previously founded CoreTek, Inc. (acquired by Nortel Networks in 2000) leads the company.