FURUKAWA ELECTRIC AND OFS  LAUNCH RAMAN EDFA

OFC/ NFOEC 2010, Booth 1023, San Diego, California, March 22, 2010 - Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and the U.S.-based OFS, Specialty Photonics Division, are pleased to announce worldwide commercial availability of a module to integrate both an Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) and a Raman Amplifier into a single unit.  Raman amplifiers are known to have superior noise characteristics, and EDFAs provide higher gain of 15 dB to compensate for loss due to the number of components in the system and improve optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR). As transmission distances become longer, additional loss is created by the increased number of optical components in the system.  By combining the two technologies into one compact high-performance package with an output power of 18 dBm, we are prepared to meet the demand of ultra-high bit rate transmissions of 40 Gbps networking and the 100 Gbps systems now becoming available.

The new ErFA40000 Series from Furukawa uses our high-speed control EDFAs and 1480 nm high-power pump lasers.

Furukawa and OFS will be exhibiting at OFC/NFOEC, Booth #1023 beginning March 22, 2010.

About Furukawa Electric Company, Ltd.

Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. (www.furukawa.co.jp/english) is an $11 billion global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of fiber optic products, network products, electronics components, power cables, nonferrous metals, and other advanced technology products. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Furukawa operates production facilities on five continents around the globe, including OFS and the OFS, Specialty Photonics Division, in the USA.

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.
 
OFS’ corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes technology powerhouses such as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent, NYSE: ALU). Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications.

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

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