Bookham recently announced what is believed to be the industry's first fully Telcordia qualified tunable small form factor transponder (TSFF).
The TSFF has passed more than 2,000 hours of rigorous testing – proving its reliability and performance in a footprint 58% smaller than previous generation tunable LFF (large form factor) transponder products. The 2.2" x 3" footprint enables network equipment manufacturers to increase port density, placing two SFF transponders on a card where only one LFF would fit. The Bookham TL9000 is a direct drop-in replacement for the LFF devices - meaning that customers can also leverage Bookham's already competitive pricing on existing cards using LFF. Now released to volume production, the TL9000 is being field-deployed by a tier 1 North American network provider, and Bookham expects to ship several hundreds of these devices during the first calendar quarter.
The universal nature of the product allows customization to individual specifications, whilst a standard but flexible platform design is used across all applications. This can reduce lead-time, decrease inventory costs, and allow production flexibility and cost optimization. The product can be configured with either a negatively chirped or zero chirp transmitter for both Regional Metro and Long Haul DWDM applications.
