Review

Although the 2003 optoelectronic-device market did not see much in the way of industry firsts, it did debut quite a few new products in several categories. In addition to space and cost considerations, advancements in performance, stability, power levels, integration, and specialization were evident. Here is a small sampling.

PGE 60841 erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) via Ericsson Optoelectronics (ericsson.com) save space and power with a footprint of just 70 mm x 45 mm x 10 mm and a maximum consumption of 0.75W. Despite its size, the amplifier integrates input and output monitoring diodes and an uncooled mini-DIL pump laser to deliver output power up to +15 dBm, a small signal gain to 25 dB, and an impressive noise figure of less than 6 dB.

Promising to lower optical-network costs, Intense Photonics' (intenseco.com) 980-nm, IP0980-120md EDFA pump laser delivers up to 120 mW without cooling. Cost and space savings are realized via its ability to operate without a Peltier thermoelectric cooler and eight-pin mini-DIL package, respectively.

Closing the performance gap between single-transistor couplers and more costly high-speed devices, the PS8703 optocoupler from California Eastern Laboratories (cel.com) employs a 200-kHz bandwidth as an alternative to full bandwidth couplers in moderate speed applications. Operating on 15V, the device provides isolation up to 2.5 kV, a propagation delay time of 2 µs, saturation voltage of 0.1V, and CMOS compatibility.

Focussing on stability concerns, Zarlink Semiconductor's (zarlink.com) ZLTM60001/2 family of 850-nm oxide-confined VCSEL lasers use a patent-pending optical system to minimize variations in the optical far field when current and temperature change. This unique optical system produces a very stable output beam that closely matches the circular shape of the fiber core, resulting in a high coupling efficiency.

Northrop Grumman's (northropgrumman.com) ML-Series laser diodes achieved solid-state power levels in eight-pin TO-3 packages. The ML-0040 delivers a minimum output power of 10 kW and a maximum peak output of 40 kW while the M-00005, M-00024, and M-00039 output peak powers of 10 kW, 4 kW, and 10 kW, respectively. Each device has an operating voltage of 1.8V with a maximum operating current of 1.6A, reverse voltage of 0.2V, forward voltage of 1.9V, and an operating temperature range of −20°C to +50°C.

Playing the density card, the 2.5G NX8567 and 10G NX8560SJ series Electro-Absorption Modulator MQW DFB laser diode modules from California Eastern Laboratories feature a monolithically integrated laser modulator chip, Fabry-Perot Etalon filter, and two photodiodes. Three modules in the NX8567 series include the NX8567SA NX8567SAM, and NX8567SAS for 600, 360, and 240 km applications, respectively. The NX8560SJ modules outfit 40-km DWDM ITU-T systems and 10G transponders.

Specifically targeting media oriented system transport (MOST) fiber-optic networks, Hamamatsu's (hamamatsu.com) L8628 transmitter and S8627 receiver photo ICs deliver a maximum data rate of 50 Mb/s over a TTL interface. The receiver exploits a monolithic structure, fabricated from a PiN-BiP pro-cess, while the transmitter integrates a red LED, driver, and current regulator into a clear plastic package.

The high-end optical disk drive market got a speed boost with Sipex's (sipex.com) SP8126 photo detector. Delivering an output voltage relative to the power of the laser light, the device exhibits switching speeds up to 300 V/µs with a settling time of 7 ns. These performance specifications are said to increase DVD write speeds up to eight times faster than existing levels while protecting the laser from excessive stress.

—Mat Dirjish

Outlook

The Guiding Light
It appears that the likely areas for growth in the opto device markets will be in networking, optical storage media, and medical applications with a good deal of spillover into security products. Communication distances will increase in wired networks and as the capacities of DVDs and other optical media increases, expect to see faster and more powerful devices to write and retrieve data. And with laser-based surgery and other treatment strategies becoming more common, less expensive, and more accepted, there will be many opportunities for innovation in this area.

It's difficult to forecast the future of the infrared industry, however, particularly in the shadow of low-cost wireless devices. Via further integration, wireless components have been slowly taking over some of the chores normally relegated to the IrD domain. We'll just have to wait and see which way it goes.

—MD