Uniphase Takes Leadership Role in High Speed Optical Link Demo Using Semiconductor Amplifiers At the 1310Nm Wavelength.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1998--Uniphase Corporation (Nasdaq/NMS:UNPH) announced today that its Uniphase Netherlands B.V. division along with its partners in the European Commission ACTS-project UPGRADE have demonstrated an operational, high-bit-rate optical link between Madrid and Lisbon.

The link covers a distance of 800 kilometres, using only the existing standard single-mode fibre (SSMF) network. The link is the first of its kind operating at bit-rates of 10 Gbit/s and 2.5 Gbit/s using semiconductor amplifiers designed around the 1310 nm wavelength.

It is currently being used for a tele-medicine demonstration, in which live data from a hospital in Madrid is transmitted to the site of the World EXPO in Lisbon. This achievement signifies a significant step in the realisation of the European-wide high capacity network or backbone, also commonly referred to as the information highway.

Uniphase Netherlands B.V. (formerly Philips Optoelectronics), is responsible for the optical components including integrated EA modulator DFB laser sources and semiconductor optical amplifiers. These components were built into terminal equipment developed by Lucent Technologies in Germany and optical repeater units by Telefonica de Espana. The latter together with Portugal Telecom have managed the technical aspects of the fibre cable infrastructure, while a number of universities and scientific institutes oversaw of the theoretical support and the co-development of advanced components.

At the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) in Madrid, from Sept. 20-24, this work will be reported in an invited paper and a number of posters.

The demand for fast and reliable transmission of large amounts of information (moving pictures, speech, text and graphics) continually increases. The UPGRADE project, which is lead by Dr. John Reid from Uniphase Netherlands B.V., aims to make use of the existing installed fibre networks for traffic at higher bit-rates than are used at present.

The obvious advantage is that the 100 million kilometres of installed SSMF would not have to be replaced by other types of fibres that allow transmission at higher bit rates. The combination of a new transmission format and the replacement of expensive optical repeaters by semiconductor optical amplifiers has made this development possible. The amplifiers specially designed around the 1310 nm wavelength are capable of a fibre-to-fibre gain in excess of a factor of 400. These devices are incorporated into the network at distances ranging from 20 to 50 km.

Up until now most of the experiments have taken place within the confines of the laboratory. In 1996 at the ECOC conference Uniphase Netherlands B.V. and the University of Eindhoven reported 10 Gbit/s transmission over 420 km of SSMF. In 1997 the project group performed the first live transmission of data at 10 Gbit/s within the network of Deutsche Telekom (also a partner in this project), between the cities of Kassel and Hannover, which was successfully demonstrated at the CeBIT'97. During this demonstration live video pictures from Kassel were transmitted to the Lucent Technologies stand at the CeBIT site.

UPGRADE is an ACTS programme in which a number of companies and universities co-operate. Information concerning the project, its partners and a number of its results may be found at http://www.intec.rug.ac.be/Research/Projects/horizon/welcome.html (see under section Photonics Projects).

Uniphase Corporation is an optoelectronics company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets fiber optic telecommunications equipment products, laser subsystems and laser-based semiconductor wafer defect examination and analysis equipment. The Company's telecommunications subsidiaries design, develop, manufacture and market semiconductor lasers, high-speed external modulators and transmitters for fiber optic networks in the telecommunications and cable television industries.

The Company's laser division designs, develops, manufactures and markets laser subsystems for a broad range of OEM applications which include biotechnology, industrial process control and measurement, graphics and printing, and semiconductor equipment. The Company's Ultrapointe subsidiary designs and markets advanced laser-based systems for semiconductor wafer defect examination and analysis.

Uniphase employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in San Jose. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol UNPH. The Uniphase website address is www.uniphase.com.