en.Wedoany.com Reported - Chinese optical chip company Huachen Xinguang (WinCO) announced on June 26 the launch of its Nova series chip product—the ultra-high power SHP single-mode 980nm pump laser chip. Designed for applications such as optical amplifiers in fiber optic communications, data communications, and satellite communications, this chip delivers stable output power exceeding 1000mW across an operating temperature range of -45°C to 85°C, while achieving a threshold current below 70mA. Engineering samples are now available for application by select customers, with mass production and full supply expected in the third quarter of 2026.
The Nova series single-mode 980nm pump laser chip adopts a compact CoC package, integrating high power, high precision, and low noise characteristics into a miniaturized chip solution. The 980nm pump laser chip is a critical core light source for optical amplification devices such as erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, primarily providing pump energy to the gain medium, directly impacting the amplification efficiency, noise level, stability, and long-term reliability of optical communication systems. As AI data center interconnects, long-distance fiber optic communications, satellite communications, and submarine cable systems demand higher bandwidth and link quality, the importance of high-power, high-reliability pump laser chips is increasing.
The technical focus of this chip lies in stable wide-temperature output, low-threshold startup, and high-power single-mode operation capability. The environmental adaptability range of -45°C to 85°C covers terrestrial communication stations, marine communication equipment, satellite communication systems, and some extreme temperature scenarios. The stable output power exceeding 1000mW enables support for higher-power-level optical amplification needs; the threshold current below 70mA helps reduce system startup power consumption, improve device efficiency, and provide margin for thermal management design at the module level.
The Nova series adopts a high-efficiency epitaxial structure design, enhancing photoelectric conversion performance by improving internal quantum efficiency and reducing internal losses. Data shows that the product achieves a photoelectric conversion efficiency of up to 55% at 1000mW single-mode output power. The chip also utilizes a graded longitudinal waveguide structure to achieve kink-free output power exceeding 1200mW in single-mode operation. Kink-free output capability relates to the spectral stability and power linearity of the laser chip under high-power operation, which is particularly critical for communication-grade pump light sources.
Reliability is a fundamental threshold for pump laser chips to enter communication and data center applications. Huachen Xinguang employs its self-developed high-reliability laser cavity surface passivation technology in this product to suppress failure factors such as catastrophic optical bulk damage and catastrophic optical mirror damage. These two types of failure issues can affect the long-term operational lifespan of high-power semiconductor lasers; once cavity surface or bulk damage occurs in the chip under high optical power, it may lead to output power degradation, increased noise, or even device failure.
This product undergoes reliability verification in accordance with the international optical communication standard GR-468, aiming to meet the long-term operational requirements of communication products. Optical communication equipment typically needs to maintain stability under conditions of high temperature, high humidity, temperature cycling, prolonged aging, and continuous operation. As a core component of optical amplifiers, performance fluctuations in the pump laser chip can propagate to the entire system. The Nova series targets scenarios such as terrestrial, marine, space, and AI data center interconnects, imposing higher demands on chip consistency, reliability, and mass production supply capability.
China's optical communication industry chain has long relied on a stable supply of high-end pump laser chips. With the growth in demand for AI server clusters, data center interconnects, and high-speed optical modules, optical amplifiers and their core pump light sources are entering a tighter supply-demand cycle. Huachen Xinguang's launch of the 1000mW single-mode 980nm pump laser chip and the opening of engineering sample applications indicate that the product has entered the customer verification and mass production preparation phase. If full supply proceeds as planned in the third quarter of 2026, it will further diversify the domestic supply options for high-end pump laser chips.
The core value of the Nova series SHP single-mode 980nm pump laser chip released by Huachen Xinguang lies not in a single parameter improvement, but in the comprehensive balance among high power, low threshold, wide-temperature operation, kink-free output, and communication-grade reliability. Whether subsequent products can achieve large-scale application in fiber optic communications, data communications, satellite communications, and AI data center interconnect markets will depend on customer verification results, mass production consistency, packaging yield, and long-term operational performance.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
