How much is a driver chip for each modulator and how much power does it take? In a typical data center we are talking about thousands of modulators that all need a driver chip. I would love to see a white paper on the cost savings both in driver chip savings and actual power savings per year that Lightwave would save a typical data center.
Not only does the low Vpi of 0.5-1.0V allow a modulator to be driven directly from CMOS circuits, it eliminates the requirement for the use of high voltage, inefficient voltage regulators and other biasing components. Power dissipation goes up proportionally to the square of the voltage used. If you have to use 5V to power your circuit, that circuit can consume up to 25X the power of a circuit that only runs on 1V. Humongous power savings!!!