Optical transponders eye metro, region at 10Gbps

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. has added two latest members to its line of LR-2 10Gbps long-reach transponders for metro and regional markets.

The VIT5208 provides eight-channel tunability at 50GHz channel spacing while the VIT5150 enables 10Gbps SONET and 10GbE networks to span more than 100km. With a form factor of 81.28-by-101.6-by-12.19mm each has typical power consumption of 9W.

The eight-channel VIT5208 meets the requirements of the 300-pin MSA specification, allowing it to serve as a drop-in replacement for single-channel 10Gbps MSA transponders.

A standard I?C interface allows easy control and configuration of a transponder without requiring hardware changes to a line card. Channel selection, receiver decision threshold and temperature alarms are accessible through a digital interface.

Vitesse plans to integrate C- or L-band tunability into its transponders as the market matures.

The VIT5150 offers an optical dispersion penalty of <2 dB at 1.6ns/nm, as required by long-reach applications. At 100km, it does not require an EDFA for optical amplification or regeneration.

Each is priced at $9,000 in production-volume quantities. The VIT5150 is in production now. The VIT5208 is sampling now and is scheduled for production in Q4.

EE Times