Companies Ally to Standardize Tunable Laser Components

Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, iolon Inc. of San Jose and Santur Corp. of Fremont, all in California, and Bookham Technology of Abington, UK, have established a multisource agreement for tunable lasers based on the Optical Internetworking Forum's 2002 implementation agreement. The companies will work to standardize their products in terms of size, functionality and optical performance, enabling system vendors to obtain components from more than one manufacturer. This step toward compatible tunable laser modules, and eventually to integrated assemblies and transponders, is expected to speed development and manufacturing, and to significantly broaden acceptance of the technology.