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A key attribute emerging in the optoelectronic component supply industry is the ability to deliver 'solution level' products rather than discrete optical components to equipment manufacturers. This approach is primarily aimed at reducing cost for the equipment manufacturer both in engineering and assembly. Such 'solutions' must be designed to be cost effective - offering costs substantially below discrete components - and must be compatible with subcontract
board manufacture without the traditional and expensive skills of fibre handling, splicing and management.
Examples of 'solutions' in this context may be the core of a multifunctional OADM or a DWDM laser transmitter subsystem, with modulation, wavelength and power management all included in a simple to use module. Essential to the cost effective production of such solutions is a high degree of optical/optoelectronic integration. Co-packaging of discrete components and electronics into modules will not deliver the cost reduction demanded. At Bookham Technology we have brought together what we believe to be the three key integration technologies - InP for monolithic tunable sources, GaAs for high performance integrated modulation and ASOC for smart passives and hybrid platforms - which can deliver this cost reduction, together with performance enhancement, over a wide range of applications. In the paper we will demonstrate and compare our above integration approaches with the competing alternatives and seek to show how the power of integration is finally being harnessed in optoelectronics, delivering radical cost reduction as well as enabling system concepts virtually impossible to achieve with discrete components. In the paper we will demonstrate and compare our above integration approaches with the competing alternatives and seek to show how the power of integration is finally being harnessed in optoelectronics, delivering radical cost reduction as well as enabling system concepts virtually impossible to achieve with discrete components.
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