Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ) has announced the commercial availability of a 256-channel all-optical router based on optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, with its first release slated for July 2000. At 40 Gbit/s per channel, the router has a 6.4-Tbit/s capacity. The device contains 256 tilting micromirrors fabricated on a 1-in.-square piece of silicon. The technology was first publicly demonstrated at Telecom '99 (Geneva, Switzerland) and went from laboratory to market in 15 months. The company says more than 256 channels are possible.
John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.