Finisar Announces Technology Roadmap for Next Generation Multimode Fiber (MMF) Interfaces

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - March 23, 2015) - Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) today announced details of the company's technology roadmap for next generation Multimode Fiber (MMF) interfaces. This includes a new suite of products capable of links as long as 300 meters at 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s. Multimode Fiber leverages VCSEL-based technology, which represents the lowest power, lowest cost and highest density interconnect technology available in the industry. MMF is the most common optical interconnect between systems (i.e. servers, network switches and routers), and Finisar's investment in the technology will help ensure that Multimode Fiber continues to be the most cost-effective interconnect for all but the largest data centers.

According to research firm Gartner¹, 94% of all datacenters sites built in 2014 were smaller than 250,000 square feet, and this percentage is not expected to change through 2018. A 300 meter optical link is sufficient for even the longest distances inside a 250,000 square foot datacenter. This Finisar MMF technology roadmap will support current and next generation requirements for the vast majority of data centers at cost points typical of traditional VCSEL-based solutions.

To support this roadmap, Finisar and industry partners are committed to driving major advancements in multimode technology, designed to enable higher bandwidth, longer reach and reduced infrastructure cost for both enterprise and data center applications. Finisar's multimode technology roadmap is based, in part, on four key themes:

1. Support of Installed Base: Support for 40GbE, 100GbE and beyond on the existing installed MMF fiber plant;
2. Shortwave WDM (SWDM): The ability to multiplex multiple lanes onto a single fiber to reduce the fiber count and enable duplex-LC interfaces for 40GbE, 100GbE, and beyond;
3. Lane rates >25 Gb/s: Developing and standardizing technology that enables multimode VCSELs to operate at 50 Gb/s and beyond, to enable future generations of both single-lane and multiple lane optical interfaces; and
4. Wideband MMF: Support for the definition and standardization of wideband multimode fiber to enable WDM transmission over links that are greater than 300m.

¹ Consulting Project for Corning Optical Communications

Products Demonstrations at OFC

To support this roadmap, Finisar will be demonstrating various implementations of its MMF technology roadmap at booth #1403 at this week's Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC) from March 24th to 26th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Based on Finisar's SWDM VCSEL technology, these demonstrations include:

• A 40 Gb/s SWDM4™ transceiver in a QSFP+ form factor, capable of 300m on duplex OM3 MMF. At less than 1.5W power consumption, this device enables a simple upgrade path for data centers that have deployed duplex MMF for 10 Gb/s applications.
• A 100 Gb/s SWDM4™ technology demonstration of 70m transmission over duplex OM3 MMF and 100m over OM4 MMF, and with a roadmap to 300m using OM4 MMF.

"Finisar is committed to the most cost-effective technologies for our enterprise and data center customers, and we are investing more in VCSEL-based products than ever before," said Rafik Ward, Vice President of Marketing at Finisar. "Through these investments, we expect to build a pipeline of new high-speed products that ensures MMF continues to be the most cost-effective deployment decision for data centers for years to come." 

About Finisar
Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) is a global technology leader for fiber optic subsystems and components that enable high-speed voice, video and data communications for telecommunications, networking, storage, wireless, and cable TV applications. For 25 years, Finisar has provided critical optics technologies to system manufacturers to meet the increasing demands for network bandwidth and storage. Finisar is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA with R&D, manufacturing sites, and sales offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.finisar.com. Stay up to date with Finisar by reading the Lightspeed blog and connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook, and the YouTube Finisar Channel.

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