Glossary

A round piece of semiconductor material, such as silicon or InP. The larger the wafer sizes, the more devices can be produced (at a lower price). The consumer electronics industry uses 12 inch wafers to produce at a very high volume, but the lower volume telecom industry uses 3-6 inch wafers to produce its devices

The spatial period of a wave, either in an electromagnetic spectrum (like light) or sound.

A device that stabilizes and locks the emission of a lasers into a single wavelength. Without the locker, the laser's wavelength might drift with temperature and other mechanical instabilities.

Components in WDM networks that will route (switch) signals between optical fibers depending on the required wavelengths.