Transport networks and hyperscale data centers are rapidly deploying 400 GbE, and the development of 800 GbE is accelerating. Among the many challenges being encountered are physical limitations affecting volume manufacturing and the ability of test systems to deliver the necessary optical power in the 0-band. Doping enables light amplification through stimulated emission, but achieving efficient, broad-wavelength amplification that supports the entire 0-band has been a challenge.

Among the advantages of bismuth doping and the amplifier design are: the ability to amplify widely in the O-band (1260–1360 nm) occupied by 100 GbE, 400 GbE, and 800 GbE; and the ability to produce fiber at scale, since the host matrix is ​​almost the same as that of single-mode fiber. VIAVI and OFS collaborated closely during the development of the mOFA-C1, including design, prototyping, and feasibility studies, with particular attention to maximizing gain, power, and wavelength coverage to amplify the aforementioned signals with a single amplifier. This new fiber greatly simplified integration into VIAVI's C-band and L-band amplifier manufacturing processes.