Corning Moves Dispersion Compensating Fiber Manufacturing to Wilmington Plant

Citing accelerated demand for its dispersion compensation modules, Corning Inc. plans to move its dispersion compensating optical fiber manufacturing operation from a pilot facility in Corning, NY, to its prime operation in Wilmington, NC. Corning says the move will enable it to meet demand for the modules, which Corning will continue to assemble at its Photonic Technologies Plant in Erwin, NY.

Demand for the modules reflects growth in the deployment of 10 Gbps transmission systems that require dispersion compensation, Corning says.

When transmission speeds move from 2.5 to 10 Gbits/sec, chromatic dispersion (a broadening of the light pulse) becomes a more prevalent limiting factor (primarily in standard single mode fiber) than others. In the early 1990s, Corning developed a specialty fiber to combat the problem, and now uses the fiber in dispersion compensation modules that became commercially available in 1994.