Opportunities in Dispersion Compensation: Electronic, Optical and Tunable

SUMMARY

When most networks operated at under 2.5 Gbps, dispersion compensation was required infrequently. But dispersion compensation has now assumed a central role in optical networking. As 10 Gbps networks have risen to prominence, dispersion compensation has become required in as much as 20 percent of the public network, according to some sources. With 40 Gbps networks now being built and 100 Gbps networks just a few years away, dispersion compensation looks like it will generate some very large opportunities in the next five years or so.

In addition, dispersion compensation now looks like it will be the key to serial transmission of 10 GigE over multimode fiber through the widespread deployment of the IEEEs LRM standard in the data center. This will be the first “mass market” opportunity for dispersion compensation, in this case electronic dispersion compensation (EDC)

The arrival of EDC serves to underline that dispersion compensation systems have grown in technological sophistication. Just a few years back, no one would have seriously considered doing dispersion compensation with electronics and EDC represent an entirely new opportunity for the network silicon business. Once dispersion compensation modules were no more than large spools of fiber and these still form a large part of the market, although they have become highly miniaturized. At the same time, tunable dispersion compensators have emerged; still a tiny market, but likely to prove essential as 40 Gbps deployment ramps up, opening up new revenue potential for a variety of tunable optical mechanisms.

This report analyzes and quantifies all the opportunities in the dispersion compensation space. It covers the impact of emerging 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps standards, the long-haul renaissance and the continued penetration of WDM in the metro. It will also assess the growing number of technology approaches and market strategies that the approximately 30 firms now active in the dispersion compensation space are employing. The report includes a detailed five-year forecast of dispersion compensation, broken out by network segment, data rate and type of technology. It will be essential reading in dispersion compensation firms and at fiber, module and chip makers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

• E.1 Opportunities in Dispersion Compensation
• E.2. Firms to Watch
• E.3 Summary of Market Forecasts

Chapter One

• 1.1 Background to this Report
  • 1.1.1 PMD and CD
• 1.2 Goals and Scope of this Report
• 1.3 Methodology of this Report
• 1.4 Plan of Report

Chapter Two: Market Requirements for Dispersion Compensation

• 2.1 Introduction
• 2.2 Emerging Dispersion Compensation Issues in the Public Network
  • 2.2.1 Long-Haul and Ultra-Long Haul Networks
  • 2.2.2 Metro Networks
  • 2.2.3 Potential Need For Dispersion Compensation Access Networks
  • 2.2.4 Impact of Deployment of Advanced Modulation Schemes
• 2.3 How Dispersion Compensation is Being Used in 10 GigE Networks

Chapter Three: Dispersion Compensation Technologies

• 3.1 Introduction
• 3.2 Current and Future Role of Dispersion Compensation Fiber in the Network
• 3.3 Fiber-Based Dispersion Compensation Modules: Current and Future Use
• 3.4 Tunable Dispersion Compensation Modules
  • 3.4.1 Mechanisms for Tunability
  • 3.4.2 Current and Future Use
• 3.5 Electronic Dispersion Compensation
  • 3.5.1 EDC for 10 GigE
  • 3.5.2 EDC for Public Networks

Chapter Four: Market Forecasts

• 4.1 Forecasting Methodology
  • 4.1.1 Sources of Error and Alternative Scenarios
• 4.2 Forecast of Dispersion Compensation Products by Network Segment
• 4.3 Forecast of Dispersion Compensation products by Technology