OTTAWA, Canada, Sept. 3, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Bookham Technology plc ("Bookham") (LSE:BHM) (Nasdaq:BKHM), a leading provider of optical components, modules and subsystems, will launch at the 2004 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), the industry's first integrated solution for optical receiver overload protection that meets ITU and IEEE standards GR-253-CORE and G.959.1. The integrated ATV10GC receiver is one-quarter of the size - and has half the electrical power consumption and about half the cost - of competing discrete devices, and is specifically designed for use by systems vendors within the widely used industry-standard 300-pin transponder package.
The new receiver is currently the only device of its kind available in the surface mount coplanar MSA form factor, with an integrated Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Variable Optical Attenuator (VOA) to control the optical power reaching the Avalanche Photodiode (APD) optical receiver. The result is a complete receiver that is small and easy to use.
"Integration is the key because it gives you a combination of size and power consumption benefits that cannot be achieved by other means," says Roger Harley, Bookham's marketing director for discrete active components. "It provides the receiver with the ability to withstand high optical power levels, which has become absolutely crucial to system vendors now, given the ITU and IEEE standards for APD protection.
"The ATV10GC receiver is designed to withstand +10dBm overload, a +5dBm margin over the ITU requirement. The VOA also allows the optical signal to be adjusted dynamically to enable the receiver to always operate within its optimum range."
The ATV10GC receiver consists of an Avalanche Photodiode, a low-noise preamplifier, a MEMS VOA, which patents are applied for on, and a precision Negative Temperature Co-efficient (NTC) thermistor in a hermetic coplanar package with a single-mode fibre pigtail. Differential outputs are provided to improve noise rejection for enhanced sensitivity. The receiver is optimized for use in 10Gbit/s Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) metro or regional metro applications - either as a discrete device or within a transponder - using non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulation, with or without forward error correction (FEC), at data rates of up to 10.7Gbit/s.
The product is now available in sample quantities, with high volume shipments beginning in January 2005. Telcordia GR-468-CORE qualification is underway, and the MEMS die, APD die and Transimpedance amplifier die are already fully qualified.
If you would like to arrange an interview, or a tour of the Bookham stand (no. 376), please contact Helen Lyman Smith on tel. +44 (0)115 950 8399 or email helen@gbcspr.com.
Notes to editors
1. ECOC (the European Conference on Optical Communication) is Europe's largest optical communication conference and exhibition, which unites academia and industry in discussion and display of the latest (and future) optical communications components, products, systems, and services. The 30th ECOC is to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from 5-9 September 2004. For more information visit www.ecoc.se. 2. Copies of Telcordia specification GR-253-CORE can be obtained by subscription from www.telcordia.com and ITU specification G.959.1 can be obtained by subscription from www.itu.int. 3. MEMS designs and fabrication processes have been jointly established in a complementary relationship between Bookham Technology plc and Colibrys SA (www.colibrys.com) to create and implement variable optical attenuator modules. Colibrys has established innovative approaches to the fabrication of a MEMS die that embodies the Bookham designs. A dedicated snap-apart method is deployed for MEMS-wafer dicing, as standard semiconductor dicing strategies are unsuitable for these three-dimensional MEMS structures. This approach delivers a high-yield separation (singulation) of MEMS chips that is compatible with standard pick-and-place semiconductor equipment, and ensures maximum reliability by avoiding particulate generation.
Bookham Technology (LSE: BHM; NASDAQ: BKHM) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of optical components, modules and subsystems. Bookham's disruptive technologies and broad product range allow it to deliver an extensive range of cost effective optical functionality and solutions to customers, which offer higher performance, lower cost and provide greater subsystems capability to meet their customers' needs. The company's optical components, modules and subsystems are used in various applications and industries, including telecommunications, data communications, aerospace, industrial and military. In 2002, Bookham acquired the optical components businesses from Nortel Networks and Marconi. In 2003, the company acquired Ignis Optics, Inc. and the business of Cierra Photonics Inc. In March 2004, the company completed the acquisition of New Focus, Inc. In June 2004, the company acquired Onetta, Inc. The company, whose securities are traded on NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange, is headquartered in the UK, with manufacturing facilities in the UK, US, Canada, China and Switzerland; offices in the UK, US, France, Italy, and China; and employs approximately 1750 people worldwide. The company has announced an intention to move its domicile to the US and to discontinue listing its securities on the London Stock Exchange.
More information on Bookham Technology is available at www.bookham.com
Bookham is a registered trademark of Bookham Technology plc.
Any statements in this announcement about the future expectations, plans or prospects of Bookham, including statements regarding expectations with respect to the timetable for completing the Scheme, as well as other statements containing the words "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "will" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including the ability to consummate the Scheme in the expected timeframe and other factors described in Bookham's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2003. The forward-looking statements included in this announcement represent Bookham's view as of the date of this release. Bookham anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Bookham's views to change. However, Bookham disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document. Those forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Bookham's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this announcement.