Alcatel-Lucent's PSE chip looks ahead to 400Gb networks

Alcatel-Lucent has announced its Photonic Service Engine, a chip for fibre-optic networks that doubles capacity and looks ahead to networks running at 400Gbps.

Alcatel-Lucent's Photonic Service Engine for fibre-optic networks looks ahead to speeds of 400Gbps. Image credit: Alcatel-Lucent/ZDNet.com

The PSE chip was developed in Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs research facility. According to the company, the PSE is designed to be the building block that can add capacity to networks without laying more fibre-optic cable in the ground. Indeed, the PSE enables more than 23 terabits of traffic to be transmitted among one optical cable compared to 8.8 terabits in a 100Gb network.

The 400Gb chip, unveiled on Tuesday, comes just 20 months after the 100Gb transport semiconductor arrived from Alcatel-Lucent. The PSE can be deployed in metro, regional and ultra-long haul networks.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Alcatel-Lucent eyes 400G network leap on ZDNet.com.