Coherent Introduces Wavemaker® and Waveshaper® Optical Solutions For Multi-Wavelength Transmissions

PITTSBURGH, March. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – COHERENT Corp. (NYSE: COHR), a global leader in optical networking, announced today the introduction of two new optical test instrumentation products: 

Coherent WaveMaker® 4000A/X Programmable Optical Spectrum Synthesizer for C+L band operation

Coherent WaveShaper® for O-Band (1.3 µm window) operation, available in the following versions:  
Coherent WaveShaper 1000B/O Programmable Optical Filter (1x1 port configuration) and Coherent WaveShaper 4000B/O Programmable Optical Processor (1x4 port configuration).

The growing demand for capacity in optical networks has generated more interest in using the O-Band more effectively. Multi-wavelength transmission and higher bitrates as well as upcoming amplified links are driving increased test requirements in this spectral domain. The WaveShaper O-Band instruments enable these tests. 

Currently deployed metro and long-haul optical networks operate mostly in the C-band. With the growing demand for increased fiber capacity, these networks' operation is now being extended into the L-band. The WaveMaker is the only compact, integrated source commercially offered in the market which can provide suitable test signals for C+L band systems.

The Coherent WaveShaper O-Band is the newest member of the industry-leading WaveShaper family, providing arbitrarily programming filter shapes in attenuation and phase in the wavelength range 1264 nm to 1358 nm. 

The WaveShaper O-Band has recently been honored by the 2024 Lightwave Innovation Award with a perfect 5.0 score. 

As a programmable optical spectrum synthesizer, the WaveMaker 4000A/X can generate arbitrary spectral shapes across the entire C+L-band from 1528.4 to 1612.65 nm with widths as narrow as 10 GHz and extinction ratios exceeding 60 dB. It is ideal for generating comb spectra and combining them with modulated signals from external sources to generate a wide range of test cases.

“Using our proven Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) technology, the WaveShaper O-Band is an enabler for testing WDM systems in the O-band,” said Dr. Beck Mason, Executive VP, Telecom Business Unit. He continued, “Additionally, WaveMaker is easy to use, and speeds up testing because all required components are included and controlled with one Graphical User Interface (GUI). The compact unit takes up less space since it is mountable in a 2U rack configuration and the WaveMaker offers significant cost savings compared to buying the various instruments and modules separately.”

The WaveShaper O-band has been designed to meet the demanding filtering requirements of the O-Band. The spectral range covers all channels of LR4, LR8 and CWDM transmission schemes. With its phase-shaping capability, the WaveShaper can create and compensate for dispersion — a capability of particular interest for high-bitrate transmission over metro networks and on data center interconnect (DCI) links.

The WaveMaker is an out-of-the-box solution which supports test cases that previously only could be supported by home-made systems where users set up from several separate instruments and modules. The WaveMaker instrument has also been equipped with a user-friendly GUI, which makes it extremely easy and intuitive to generate the spectra required for system testing. 

Coherent believes there is no other vendor in the market offering an instrument which has a capability-set close to the WaveShaper and WaveMaker products. Both instruments offer a RESTful http-based Application Programming Interface (API) which fully supports integration of the instruments in automated systems. 

The WaveShaper is available in various versions for operation in the 1 µm band and also in the S-, C-, L- and U-Band. The WaveShaper/O-Band has been released and is shipping. 

The WaveMaker 4000A/X has been released and is orderable. Shipments will start in June 2024. The WaveMaker is also available as a C-Band only product.