Reston, Virginia and Petach-Tikva, Israel - January 15, 2002 - Civcom (http://www.civcom.com), provider of multi-function all-optical components for next-generation optical networks, announces a unique breakthrough technology used in the Free-X™ family of all-optical switching components. This new technology, called SFS (Solid Free Space) provides the foundation for creating high-performance multi-function all-optical switches. Due to the nature of this reliable technology, cost-effective solutions can now be realized for all-optical switching systems and applications that had previously been either cost or performance prohibitive. In addition, the SFS technology allows the Free-X™ family of switches the ability to incorporate functions and performance not previously available in current technologies, such as MEMs and liquid crystal. These include ultra-fast switching, embedded VOA for current applications, as well as optical multicasting for emerging applications.

SFS consists of the following characteristics: It is a solid-state switch, and as such, contains no moving parts for carrier-class reliability. It also yields extremely fast switching speed, within the ranges of sub-millisecond and sub-microsecond, for next-generation all-optical network applications. It is based on free space propagation architecture with proprietary static and dynamic elements. It provides the flexibility to integrate multiple functions into a single device, such as VOA, broadcast and weighted multicast. Other characteristics of SFS include low insertion loss, exceptional PDL performance and less susceptibility to external conditions.

Civcom’s SFS technology will be demonstrated at the OFC event in March at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California