While we read much about the coming age of convergence, in the communications industry the term is beginning to take on a new meaning-the convergence of optical and electronic technologies inside communications systems. This system-level view is also having an impact on communications components.
Smaller packages are essential for next-generation communications systems.
As speeds and channel counts grow in optical networks, the need for smaller, faster and lower-cost component solutions becomes more critical. The ability to integrate optical components and ICs into smaller packages saves on the expensive real estate inside the box and ultimately inside the central office. Components that represent higher levels of integration save OEMs and systems designers considerable development and testing cycles, as well as improve the overall systems' performance and reliability. At every level of the market, from service providers to system integrators and component manufacturers, the ability to provide products with higher levels of integration is a key contributor to reducing overall development time and engineering costs. Optical components and communication ICs are converging first in the metropolitan segment of high-speed communications networks.