Coherent Announces General Availability of Industry-First 100G ZR QSFP28-DCO With High Optical Output Power

SAXONBURG, Pa., March 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR), a global leader in photonics, announces general availability of the industry’s first 100G ZR QSFP28-DCO featuring 0dBm optical output power, designed for metro and regional ROADM-based line systems. 

The new 100G ZR QSFP28-DCO stands apart as the market’s only high-power coherent transceiver in the compact QSFP28 form factor, significantly reducing both power dissipation and network footprint. Ideal for IP-over-DWDM deployments, this solution eliminates the need for costly muxponders and transponders, enabling network operators to scale efficiently while achieving superior performance. An optional Tunable Optical Filter further enhances its versatility, supporting colorless ROADM configurations. 

“Coherent continues to redefine optical networking with innovations like the high-power 100G ZR QSFP28-DCO,” said Dr. Beck Mason, Executive Vice President, Telecommunications at Coherent. “We designed it to enable cost-effective, energy-efficient IP-over-DWDM solutions.” 

“The pluggable 100G coherent market is growing rapidly as access and enterprise networks transition from 10G DWDM, and Coherent remains the only QSFP28 solution available,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst at Cignal AI. “The addition of a high-power option, which enables operation over existing ROADM networks, expands the 100ZR market deeper into metro applications.” 

“Higher-power coherent pluggables are key to enabling cost-effective IP-over-DWDM architectures, particularly in metro and regional networks. Coherent’s new 100G ZR QSFP28-DCO delivers the performance needed to simplify ROADM-based transport while improving network efficiency and scalability. Through our long-standing collaboration, we’ve worked together to advance coherent DSP technology, empowering operators to expand capacity, reduce costs, and transition to more flexible, open optical networks,” said Dr. Christoph Glingener, CTO of Adtran. 

“100G ZR/ZR+ 0dBm pluggable technology in the prolific QSFP28 form factor is driving IPoDWDM adoption across the WAN. Coherent’s 100G ZR/ZR+ transceiver, as part of an optimized IPoDWDM system, simplifies IP optical convergence in access, aggregation, and service edge architectures, including brownfield transformations,” said AE Natarajan, Executive Vice President, Chief Development Officer, Juniper Networks. “Ideal for upgrading metro DWDM networks from 10G to 100G and extending reach over dark fiber, this transceiver has potential to deliver compelling TCO benefits by addressing capacity bottlenecks for evolving bandwidth-hungry services such as mobile video, autonomous cars, and AI inference. Combined with Juniper’s expansive portfolio of IPoDWDM-optimized solutions, operators now have a new tool to enhance operations and experiences.” 

Built with the vertical integration capability of Coherent, including InP photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and in-house digital signal processor (DSP), the product is now generally available. Visit booth #1519 at OFC 2025 in San Francisco April 1-3 to learn more about these transceivers and the extensive portfolio of high-performance optical networking solutions from Coherent.  

About Coherent 

Coherent empowers market innovators to define the future through breakthrough technologies, from materials to systems. We deliver innovations that resonate with our customers in diversified applications for the industrial, communications, electronics, and instrumentation markets. Coherent has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. For more information, please visit us at coherent.com.  

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee13886a-6fd5-4ddc-83f6-dd16fd491d19

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