WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) is a transmission technology that uses a single optical fiber to simultaneously transmit multiple optical carriers of different wavelengths in optical fiber communications. All possible wavelengths are divided into several bands and referring to the ITU-T standards, we know that single-mode fiber is divided into six bands. They are O, E, S, C, L, U band.

O-BAND stands for Original Band as it was the first band introduced. O-BAND is widely used in high-speed Ethernet transmission. O-BAND is known for its use of quartz glass, a material with zero dispersion wavelength. This small dispersion allows high-speed optical transmission without the need for dispersion compensation schemes, and it offers advantages in terms of both initial investment and operating costs. In short, transceivers are cheaper and consume less power.

O-BAND’s long service life in datacom and telecommunications applications is primarily due to its zero dispersion. Chromatic dispersion causes signal distortion and limits data rates at high transmission speeds (gigabytes per second, Gb/s). O-BAND eliminates the need and additional cost for dispersion management such as digital signal processing (DSP) units. Therefore, O-BAND is ideally suited for high-speed, cost-sensitive high-volume markets. This helps reduce the cost of the transceiver and lowers operating costs by reducing power consumption.

The 100G PAM4 DWDM O-BAND solution is designed for customers requiring multiple 100G connections over medium length distances. Gigalight’s COLOR X-ray module uses the PAM4 DWDM1 O-BAND silicon optical platform, which can be used in 5G fronthaul applications. The transmission distance reaches 10km. With an external SOA, it can meet the single-span transmission of 30km.

100G QSFP28 DWDM1

• Adopting 100G PAM4 silicon photonic MZ modulation technology
• The electrical port side uses 4X 25G NRZ with built-in FEC-KP4
• DWDM O-BAND 150GHZ, 16 channels
• Meets 10km transmission
• With the addition of external SOA, it can meet the requirement of single-span transmission of 30km.
• Power consumption is expected to be less than 3.5W
• Applied to 5G fronthaul and DCI interconnection

Gigalight will continue to develop more non-coherent economical DWDM transmission solutions using silicon photonics and traditional technologies in 100G, 200G and 400G transmission networks, aiming to create a mid-to-long distance transmission market segment with COLOR X-ray transceiver non-coherent transceiver , and provide customers with simplified network deployment and expert-level low-cost interconnect solutions in this market segment.