A Stage for Targeting Global Markets

The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) is a venue
where specialists in global mine enterprises and optical communication from around the world gather together.
The OFC 2015 was held at LA Convention Center, USA, March 22~26, 2015.

At the OFC 2015, ETRI participated in overseas marketing efforts, jointly with Korean small and medium-sized enterprises.
The institution provided concerted support to small businesses to help their entry into global markets by extending its activities involving
each department to provide technological support customized for each small business, as part of efforts to foster smaller enterprises.

This Year’s Trends in Optical Communication Technologies

At the exposition of the OFC 2015, over 600 companies showcased their newest products,
including a 10G Tunable SFP+ optical transceiver, 100G-related parts, and a 100GE CFP4 optical transceiver.

Systems	Optical transceivers	Optical devices
Huawei of China introduced 40G-level NG-PON2 (TWDM-PON) technology, flex-PON technology, and multi-PON OLT technology to improve system concentration by embracing multiple PON ports with a single OLT line card	Mitsubishi and Sumitomo of Japan exhibited XG-PON, 10G-EPON OLT/ONU XFP, SFP+, SFP, 100GE CFP4, and optical transceiver-related technologies	Optical transceiver manufacturers of the United States and Japan showcased TOSA/ROSA technology, and MaxLinear of the United States introduced an array-type burst-mode TIA technology

At the exhibition halls, presentations were also made on the theme of market watch with a range of topics:
■ State of the industry ■ What’s happening for 100G and beyond ecosystems?
■ Data center architecture and content delivery strategies ■ PIC vs. Si photonics.

“With the aim to support Korean companies’ entry into overseas markets, ETRI formed teams with companies receiving technological
support from the institution and effectively engaged in joint marketing efforts,” said Dr. Jong-hyeon Lee,
head of the ETRI Optical Internet Research Department, who supervised the overseas marketing activities at the OFC 2015.

Outcomes from the OFC 2015

Optical transmission technology

Optical subscriber technology

A number of sample types have been presented as compositions for the 400GbE optical interface, but market players are aware that they are premature. In this context, the market watch session introduced a range of efforts in optical areas. Companies including Intel, Luxtera, and IBM are striving to apply the optical transceiver modules on the basis of silicon photonics to data centers, but commercialization has been delayed due to temperature and reliability-related issues. ETRI is also conducting new research projects to solve the same issues.

The markets for the field of subscriber network technology are currently led by South Korea, China, and Japan. With regard to the trends in subscriber network research, Korea is a global leader in the fields of RoF-based next-generation mobile and front-haul technology. On the other hand, the field of SDN-based field is dominated by NEC-LA and UC Davis of the United States and AIT in Europe. ETRI embarked on related research in March 2015.

At the OFC 2015, ETRI provided a live demonstration of 100GE CFP4 optical transceiver technology,
among its “orchestra optical Internet technology” recognized for its representative performance in 2014,
and received highly favorable responses from participants.
The ETRI exhibition booth was visited by the optical parts manager of Google, the vice president of Oplink,
the vice president of A*STAR in Singapore, and the chairperson of the Optical Society of Korea,
and they showed great interest in the outstanding optical telecommunication equipment and modules showcased by ETRI.