Oclaro accelerates 100 Gbps coherent product development through alliance with ClariPhy

SAN JOSE, USA: Oclaro Inc., a tier-one provider of innovative optical communications and laser solutions, announced it has made a $7.5 million strategic investment in ClariPhy Communications, a privately-held fabless semiconductor company focused on digital signal processing (DSP) and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) for high-speed next-generation networks.

In addition, ClariPhy and Oclaro have signed a Co-Marketing and Development Agreement leveraging ClariPhy's industry-leading 40nm, single-chip products with Oclaro's optical technology. The alliance with ClariPhy is an important milestone in Oclaro's strategy to build upon its leadership position in 40 Gigabits per second regional and metro networks and expand into the 100 Gb/s Coherent long-haul and ultra-long-haul markets.

The surge in new broadband services, such as social networking, video sharing, voice over IP (VoIP) and cloud computing, is creating significant demand for increased bandwidth and improved network performance, with global IP traffic expected to grow at a 40 percent CAGR between 2008 and 2013.

This intensive growth is driving the rapid transition from 10 Gb/s optical networks to 40 Gb/s and beyond. These very high bit rate communications require not only advanced optical solutions but also advanced DSP and mixed-signal integrated circuits, combined into modules for deployment by telecommunications systems providers. In particular, the move to 100 Gb/s requires Coherent technology, which is fundamental to extending the reach of high-speed networks.

"We expect an increasing percentage of the transceiver solutions for optical networks to be comprised of DSP and mixed-signal electronics as they evolve towards 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s," stated Alain Couder, President and CEO, Oclaro.

"Through our investment and alliance with ClariPhy, Oclaro believes it will be able to offer its customers best-in-class electronics and optical technology as a complete solution from a single source, whether incorporated directly in our Oclaro solutions, or co-marketed as complementary products."

Oclaro is a market leader in the 40 Gb/s market, with a leading market-share position in regional and metro networks. In the Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK) and Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) space for regional and first-generation long-haul markets respectively, Oclaro already offers Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) and Indium Phosphide (InP) component solutions.

At the sub-system level, the Oclaro vertical-integration model has resulted in ground-breaking technology disruption, as demonstrated by Oclaro's fully-qualified 40 Gb/s DQPSK 300-pin transponder solution for regional and metro applications. From this base, Oclaro is now looking to broaden its high bit rate portfolio into next-generation long-haul and ultra-long haul with coherent detection methodology.

With the standardization of 100 Gb/s gaining momentum, Oclaro believes it will continue to deliver these core optical building blocks, alongside ClariPhy's world-class signal processing engines, and to provide best-in-class module solutions.

"By leveraging the significant 40nm CMOS technology innovation from ClariPhy, Oclaro will focus on optimizing our future optical products to further increase bandwidth, improve network performance, and lower the total cost of ownership for customers," added Couder.

Oclaro and ClariPhy have a history of collaboration and offer products that have been designed to improve the performance and bandwidth of optical networks. With an industry-leading low power dissipation, Oclaro's TL9000M small form factor 300-pin transponder for 10 Gb/s networks, announced in 2009 and containing ClariPhy's maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) IC, established a new benchmark in transmission performance for dispersion-tolerant modules.

Oclaro's 300-pin transponder portfolio continues to ramp and take market share in the 10 Gb/s space. Oclaro is now taking this to the next level by driving a product strategy to deliver technology-disruptive transceivers such as Tunable XFP and XFP+, which when combined with ClariPhy's IC, is believed to deliver the industry's highest-density, lowest-power MLSE-based solution.

Oclaro and ClariPhy believe that the ongoing combination of the companies' advanced optics and signal processing delivers the performance and integration the market demands for these next generation 10 Gb/s modules.

"We are delighted to enter into a strategic alliance with Oclaro," said Dr. Paul Voois, co-founder and CEO of ClariPhy. "This alliance brings together industry-leading mixed-signal CMOS technology from ClariPhy with the world-class optical technology from Oclaro. By working together to deliver innovative solutions to the market, Oclaro and ClariPhy can help customers accelerate deployment of the next generation of high-speed networks."