SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 28 -- Coherent Inc. said that it has delivered the first prototypes of its optically pumped semiconductor (OPS) technology. The devices produce 500 mW at 980 nm from the end of the fiber in a non-telecom-qualified package; they are being tested in a variety of telecom applications, including erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) pumping. OPS is our first effort in active devices for dense WDM, noted Bernard Couillaud, Coherent's president and CEO, and can change the paradigm for EDFA pump lasers. John Ambroseo, president of Coherent's Laser Group, commented, Our R&D team has made substantial progress on the OPS platform during the past year. We have successfully reduced the package size to be consistent with current EDFA pumps. We are now focusing our efforts on producing a telecom-qualified package.