NeoPhotonics Announces New Multiplexers and De-Multiplexers that Increase Capacity of Data Center Interconnect Optical Fibers

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NeoPhotonics Corporation (NYSE: NPTN), a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced hybrid photonic integrated circuit based modules and subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high speed communications networks, today announced the introduction and initial shipments of new Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) multiplexers and de-multiplexers for high capacity, high baud rate, coherent transmission systems.  These new AWGs are based on NeoPhotonics high volume, high reliability Planar Lightwave Circuit platform and offer channel spacings from 75 GHz to 150 GHz and channel counts from 40 to 64 channels.  The filter response functions have been designed to be broad and flat over the desired passband in order to support new coherent systems operating in the range from 60 to 128 Gbaud.  This new product family consists of multiple designs which are optimized around specific system requirements.

Over the last two decades, AWGs have been a key filtering technology used in Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems to put different wavelength channels on to and off of transmission fibers.  An AWG offers much lower cost and many more channels compared to a wavelength-selective switch, and is an ideal wavelength multiplexing and de-multiplexing technology for point-to-point high capacity systems such as Data Center Interconnect (DCI). NeoPhotonics is a fully vertically integrated supplier of AWGs with in-house design, wafer fabrication, assembly and test, and has shipped more than half a million AWGs to the market world-wide.

The advent of coherent transmission for telecommunications greatly increases fiber capacity and is particularly useful for DCI applications.  However, it imposes a new set of requirements on AWGs that are quite different from those in traditional direct detection systems.  By using higher baud rates and higher order modulation coherent transmission the bandwidth of each wavelength channel can be increased to 400 Gbps, 600 Gbps, 800Gbps or higher.  However, these channels require more spectral bandwidth, thus reducing the total number of channels achievable when the total available optical spectrum is fixed. 

Consequently, an optimum design of the DWDM multiplexer and de-multiplexer channel spacing and filter bandwidth is needed to maximize the fiber capacity. As a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of AWGs, NeoPhotonics works with customers to efficiently modify the filter shape and channel spacing to maximize total fiber capacity, and can rapidly transition new designs to production, providing high volume to support DCI deployments.

"We are pleased to announce initial shipments of our new line of AWGs designed to support our customers' high baud rate DCI and Telecom coherent transmission systems," said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. "As an industry leading designer and vertically integrated manufacturer we have been able to respond rapidly to different customer needs and to efficiently meet this emerging market demand," concluded Mr. Jenks.

About NeoPhotonics

NeoPhotonics is a leading designer and manufacturer of optoelectronic solutions for the highest speed communications networks in telecom and datacenter applications.  The Company's products enable cost-effective, high-speed data transmission and efficient allocation of bandwidth over communications networks. NeoPhotonics maintains headquarters in San Jose, California and ISO 9001:2015 certified engineering and manufacturing facilities in Silicon Valley (USA), Japan and China.  For additional information visit www.neophotonics.com.

© 2019 NeoPhotonics Corporation. All rights reserved. NeoPhotonics and the red dot logo are trademarks of NeoPhotonics Corporation. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release includes statements that qualify as forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those related to industry trends and expected demand for high speed network applications. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are only predictions based on the company's current expectations, estimates and projections about their respective industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by the company, all of which are subject to change and which may differ materially from actual future events or results. The actual company results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as well as other risks and uncertainties relating to the company's business, are described more fully in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as well as in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the three month periods ended March 31, 2019 and July 31, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE NeoPhotonics Corp