Arista Networks, Inc.

Peter Parkinson

Alexey Kovsh

David Towne

Andreas Bechtolsheim

Kumar Narayanan

Mehran Ataee

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a semiconductor optical amplifier including a semiconductor-based gain medium configured to receive a drive current and a variable-width waveguide coupled to the in the semiconductor-based gain medium, the variable-width waveguide including a plurality of narrow width regions and a plurality of wide width regions positioned alternately along a longitudinal axis of the waveguide. The variable-width waveguide further includes a plurality of transition regions having an adiabatically varying widths. Each transition region connects adjacent ones of the plurality of narrow width and width regions and the waveguide has a reduced drive current density in the plurality of wide width regions relative to the drive current density in the plurality of narrow width regions.

Variable-width waveguide for semiconductor optical amplifier devices

Embodiments of the present disclosure include optical transmitters and transceivers with improved reliability. In some embodiments, the optical transmitters are used in network devices, such as in conjunction with a network switch. In one embodiment, lasers are operated at low power to improve reliability and power consumption. The output of the laser may be modulated by a non-direct modulator and received by integrated optical components, such as a modulator and/or multiplexer. The output of the optical components may be amplified by a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). Various advantageous configurations of lasers, optical components, and SOAs are disclosed. In some embodiments, SOAs are configured as part of a pluggable optical communication module, for example.

Optical communication interface

Network device with optical communication interface

In some implementations, a method is provided. The method may allow a powered device to determine the maximum power available from power supply equipment. The method includes determining the length of a cable connecting the powered device to the power supply equipment based on the resistance of the cable. The method further includes determining the maximum power available to the powered device based on the length of the cable. The powered device may then be operated based on the maximum power available.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Peter Parkinson