Reliability Technology for Submarine

Repeaters

V Shinichiro Harasawa V Makoto Sumitani V Kenji Ohta

(Manuscript received July 10, 2007)

Fujitsus submarine repeaters have been installed on the seabed worldwide. In 1969
Fujitsu delivered its first submarine coaxial cable system laid along the Uchiura Bay
route off Hokkaido, and now deploys the most advanced optical-amplifying repeat-
ers. Fujitsu has thus far delivered a total of about 2400 submarine coaxial and opti-
cal repeaters in its latest cable systems. Fujitsu repeaters are widely acknowledged
as being the most reliable products in the submarine cable industry and have never
required ship-based repair during commercial use since the inception of this indus-
try. These highly reliable submarine repeaters have been achieved thanks to a con-
sistent concept of developing components, design, development, manufacturing,
and inspection. Fujitsu has also built a mechanism for promoting close communica-
tion among all personnel and organizations concerned to sustain and improve reli-
ability skills. This paper describes the various activities undertaken by Fujitsu with
regard to its highly reliable submarine repeaters.

1. Introduction following system installation and operation

Fujitsu has delivered a number of subma- (Figure 2).
rine cable systems for use not only in the seas A submarine cable system consists of a
near Japan, but also throughout the world. Since submersible plant and a submarine line terminal
the submarine cable system business began with plant. The submersible plant includes submarine
the coaxial transmission system in 1969, until repeaters, branching units, and submarine cables.
the delivery of the latest optical transmission The submarine line terminal plant includes
systems, Fujitsu submarine cable systems have submarine line terminal equipment, power
been highly praised by customers. Figure 1 feeding equipment, and equipment installed at
shows the routes of WDM submarine optical the landing station. Should failure occur in any
cable systems supplied by Fujitsu to date. unit of the submersible plant, the submarine
As a leading system supplier, Fujitsu has cables and repeaters must be recovered from
provided highly reliable submarine cable systems the seabed, repaired, and re-laid, which entails
by dedicating the full use of total engineering. considerable time and high cost. Moreover, a
This begins with project planning and a cable main artery of international communications
route engineering survey. Then it proceeds to will be interrupted, imposing a huge impact on
the system design, development, design, and society. Accordingly, highly reliable submarine
manufacturing of submersible equipment (such repeaters represent a mandatory requirement for
as submarine repeaters and branching units) and submarine cable systems.
submarine line terminal equipment, construc- Fujitsu has deployed brand-new technolo-
tion work involving cableships, and maintenance gies to provide submarine cable systems through

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 S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

Figure 1
Fujitsu WDM submarine cable systems deployed in Asia-Pacific region.

1. System engineering 4. Submersible plants

Power (dBm)

1537 1542 1547 1552 1557 1562

Wavelength (nm)

2. Route engineering and marine operation 3. Terminal equipment

Figure 2
Fujitsu total submarine cable network system.

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S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

evolving generations, and the submarine repeat- repairs)note 1): 3 or less (in 25 years)
ers delivered by Fujitsu have yet to experience Number of f its note 2) per repeater (f or
failure. 4 systems): 22 fits or less @ 5C CL 95%
This paper describes the reliability technolo- The lifetime required for a submarine trans-
gy developed by Fujitsu to achieve highly reliable mission system is typically 25 years due to its
submarine repeaters ever since its first subma- very high initial investment cost. A system
rine transmission system was delivered. such as the Trans-Pacific Cable requires about
200 repeaters. When 22-fit repeaters are used,
2. Reliability of submarine the repair count in 25 years is estimated to be
repeaters 1 or less.
2.1 Specification requirements
Submarine repeaters to be laid 8000 meters 2.1.3 Environmental conditions1),2)
below the sea surface must be sufficiently Maintaining stable system operation for
resistant to corrosion from seawater under 25 years on the seabed at a depth down to
high-hydraulic pressure. Also, given the prohibi- 8000 meters requires the environmental resis-
tively high cost of salvaging and repair work, the tance characteristics described below. Current
internal circuitry of submarine repeaters also submarine optical repeaters adopt the technolo-
requires both high quality and high reliability. gies used to achieve environmental resistance,
as well as new technologies specific to submarine
2.1.1 Main features of submarine coaxial repeaters.
transmission system 1) Anti-corrosion and anti-hydraulic pressure
The following gives an example of the latest The housing of repeaters is made of
submarine optical transmission system. a beryllium copper alloy that offers excel-
Transmission bit rate: 10.709 Gb/s (trans- lent anti-corrosion resistance and mechanical
mission capacity of 9.95328 Gb/s STM-64: strength in seawater.
S64.2 ITU-T G.691) 2) Airtight structure
Configuration: Optical-amplifying repeater The repeaters feature an airtight struc-
Power feeding current: 1.0 A ture to resist a hydraulic pressure of 800 kgf/cm2
System voltage: 12 kV or less (78.5 MPa) and prevent humidity from rising
Maximum water depth: 8000 m above 20%RH inside the housing for 25 years.
Operating temperature: 0 to 35C This degree of airtightness has been made possi-
Supervisory system: C-OTDR, repeat- ble through the following:
er monitor system (input monitor, output Sealed circumferential welding at both ends
monitor, laser diode [LD] current monitor) of the cylindrical pressure-tight housing.
Collective insertion of optical fibers and
2.1.2 Required reliability power feed cable into the pressure-resistant
The reliability required depends somewhat cabinet while maintaining airtightness.
on the total system length and location where The optical fiber cable features a structure
the system is installed. The specification require- sealed by metal with solder; the power feed
ments of a typical long-distance system are as
note 1) (Total fit rate of submersible plant) 24 (H)
follows: 365 (D) 25 (Y) 109.
System lifetime: 25 years note 2) Abbreviation for failure unit, a unit of
failure rate. 1 fit = 109 count/hour. For
Average repair count (number of ship-based example, 22 fits indicates a Mean Time
Between Failures [MTBF] of 5188 years.

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 S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

cable has a structure sealed by polyethylene 2.2 Submarine repeater configuration and
molding and a metal cone. measures to ensure high reliability
Air tightness tests for all submarine repeat- To maintain the reliability of submarine
ers using a pressure equal to the operating repeaters, traditional and proven techniques
hydraulic pressure to check airtightness at should be employed in the design as much as
the final stage of manufacturing. possible. New parts and techniques must be
3) Dielectric strength evaluated over a long period to improve reliabil-
A polyethylene cylinder is placed between ity. The test process requires a system for
the internal unit and external housing to achieve detecting failures in parts or at the earliest possi-
a dielectric strength structure of 15 kV or more. ble stage of manufacturing.
4) Evaluation of surge resistance
The submarine repeater is protected against 2.2.1 Redundant configuration
power surges that may result from a sudden The submarine optical repeater has achieved
interruption of the high voltage supplied on the a system of high reliability. For instance, the
cable. The submarine repeater surge protection pump laser diodes and control circuit of the
circuit consists of a gas tube arrester, coils, and optical amplifier have redundant configurations
high-power Zener diodes and resistors. These to improve reliability. Since a system consists
circuit components are used in evaluating electric of four pump laser diodes, any failure that may
current and transient properties at a simulated occur in three of the four pump laser diodes has
surge, and enable surge resistance to be evalu- no impact on the system performance.
ated using a surge test generator under the
following conditions: 2.2.2 Design reliability
15 kV The resistors and Zener diodes are rated,
200 A respectively, at 4 and 10 times their maximum
5) Vibration and impact resistance operating powers.
A vibration and impact test is conduct-
ed to check whether the system can withstand 2.2.3 Manufacturing test methods
vibration and impact during transport and 1) Automatic tests
installation. To conduct different tests in a short time, all
6) Evaluation of individual parts process tests are conducted automatically. In the
Individual parts are checked to see if they adjustment test, adequate adjustment resistance
can withstand the environmental conditions values are automatically calculated based on
when they are integrated into the internal circuit, characteristics obtained by simulating the appli-
during manufacturing, and after installation. cation of electric current from outside instead of
The evaluation items include resistance based on variable resistance.
to radiation, drying, magnetism, hydrogen gas, 2) Building a database
barometric pressure, fiber strength, and internal- Everything from the test data on repeater
ly generated corrosive gas. optical electric parts, data acquired during the
7) Temperature-humidity test manufacture of repeaters, to the final test results
A temperature cycle test is conducted along is stored in a database. Parts are automatically
with a high/low temperature shelf test. combined for each system unit to obtain uniform
characteristics based on the database. The
assembly and manufacturing processes directly
affect these combined parts.

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S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

3) Test specifications performed electric power aging in a temperature

Any failure in parts or manufacturing cycle from 60 to +150C for several 10s of cycles,
defects can be detected early by comparing the and at Ta = 150C for 500 hours. We employed
test results obtained in each process with the a technique that certainly satisfied the test
estimated values calculated from the parts data. standards before and after the screening test.
Test specifications are defined to satisfy the 3) Lifetime test
system specification requirements. Likewise, We c o n d u c t e d a v a r i e t y o f t e s t s o n
more rigorous test specifications should be set components that passed the screening
based on accumulated test result data of previ- test, such as a continuous operation test,
ously manufactured repeaters. In this way, any high-temperature/high-humidity shelf test,
unchecked parts that have deviated from data temperature cycle test, and accelerated test.
distribution can be prevented from being sent to Then we estimated the lifetimes and acceleration
the next process. rates of individual components, and confirmed
4) Statistical processing that the components satisfied the targeted
Statistical processing is performed for parts reliability.
data and test results stored in the database. 4) Manufacturing process management
Statistical processing helps us to detect parts To stably manufacture the components
that have deviated from distribution at an early needed to achieve high-reliability design, we
stage and analyze the causes. established various work methods, developed
facilities and jigs, and thoroughly conducted
3. Reliability of components production control and in-process inspection.
Ensuring the reliability of components of Accordingly, we designed a manufacturing
submarine repeaters that need a service life of process that eliminates any factors that might
25 years or longer is a very important factor. adversely affect reliability.
This section describes the techniques employed 5) Lot assurance test
by Fujitsu to ensure the reliability of various We further sampled components manufac-
components of its submarine repeaters.3),4) tured in the established process for each
1) Failure mode analysis and high-reliability manufacturing lot and conducted a lot assurance
design test to prevent the inclusion of any defective lots.
Based on existing field data and a prototype
evaluation, we analyzed the factors of degrada- 4. Reliability management in
tion for the characteristics of each component manufacturing of submarine
element, degradation caused by variations in repeaters
joint areas, and damage to structural elements. Highly reliable submarine repeaters are
To confirm failure modes and eliminate various achieved by establishing manufacturing and
disadvantages, we made such design improve- quality control systems throughout the manufac-
ments as reviewing and selecting proper turing process, as well as various designs
materials, and changing element structures. focusing on the development and reliability
2) Screening test of high-reliability components. This section
Before evaluating reliability, we established describes the reliability technology utilized in
a high-reliability screening method for removing manufacturing and producing our submarine
components subject to initial failure factors and repeaters.5)
aging in order to stabilize characteristics.
As an example of the screening test, we

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 S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

4.1 Building reliability management To stably, efficiently, and continuously

systems manufacture highly reliable submarine repeat-
1) Execution system and organization ers, workers are carefully selected by assessing
A brand-new organization and management their suitability, including their physical and
system have been adopted for manufacturing mental conditions, experience, and skills.
submarine repeaters, so that the departments The workers selected are then trained
concerned can work closely together to achieve to acquire the following relevant knowledge
the reliability targeted at the design stage. These necessary to provide highly reliable submarine
departments include the design department repeaters:
responsible for the development and design of A general knowledge about the circuit
components and equipment, the factory depart- configuration, structure, performance, and
ment responsible for manufacturing, inspection, roles of submarine repeaters
manufacturing technology, production manage- A general knowledge about reliability and
ment, and quality control, and the purchase quality assurance
department. As an example of cooperative activi- The proper mental attitude as workers
ties, liaison meetings between the design and engaged in manufacturing submarine
factory departments are periodically held with repeaters
a high level of communications. The meetings 2) Qualifying specialists and offering education
are intended to develop schemes of basic policies, Specialized work including the splicing of
solve problems and issues, and review manufac- optical fiber, soldering, polyethylene molding,
turing progress. sealing cabinets by welding, and X-ray inspection
2) Data processing and traceability manage- requires advanced techniques. Workers engaged
ment in this specialized work or a particular work
A new management system has also been such as conducting an air tightness test using
adopted for the assembly process. This system high-pressure gas are trained and given aptitude
allows us to record data for all work conditions, tests. These activities include:
management items, and test results from the Education and training for improving
reception of parts materials to the final comple- practical skills, knowledge, and reliability
tion of repeaters. This data is finally processed for each specialized work according to the
on the computer. A traceability management instructors programs
system has also been established to search for Creating education and training records,
causes of failure retroactive to part materials for and maintaining and improving worker
any failure detected in postprocessing or after skills
product shipment. At the end of the education and training
3) Corrective actions program, undergoing practical and academic
A corrective action procedure has been examinations, with certification granted to
established for any failure that may be detected workers who pass the examinations
in manufacturing or inspection to prevent the
recurrence of similar failure. 4.3 Specifying and automating assembly
work
4.2 Selecting and qualifying workers, and Based on the structural design specifica-
building education and training system tions and manufacturing conditions established
1) Selecting workers and offering general in the preliminary prototype evaluation, various
education work specifications and manufacturing method

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S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

standards have been developed and established. failure. The number of fits per repeater as calcu-
The work specifications define the assembly lated from the cumulative time above is 3.3 or
methods and conditions in each process, work less.
control items, jigs and tools, manufacturing plants, Given these results, Fujitsu submarine
and environmental conditions. Control items repeaters are widely acknowledged as being the
are checked and recorded in each process, and most reliable in the world.
product quality is evaluated and checked accord-
ing to these specification documents. In this way, 6. Conclusion
we have achieved highly reliable repeaters. Highly reliable submarine repeaters can
Typical processes in assembling subma- be achieved thanks to the reliability technol-
rine repeaters include polyethylene molding ogy established based on a consistent concept of
and sealing the repeater housing by welding. developing components, design, manufacturing,
Polyethylene molding assures insulation essen- and other numerous factors.
tial to long-term reliability and repeater housings Fujitsu submarine repeaters have been
sealed by welding require a pressure tightness operating on international lines of communi-
and airtightness lasting at least 25 years at a cation on the seabeds of oceans, seas, and bays
depth of 8000 meters below the sea surface. For around the world. From the first delivery of
these processes, techniques for automating work, Fujitsu submarine coaxial repeaters in 1969 to
facilitating product homogenization, and record- the latest submarine optical-amplifying repeat-
ing the work status in each process have been ers, our repeaters have never experienced
established to improve reliability. ship-based repair over several generations.
Fujitsu is now promoting the adoption
4.4 Establishing inspection and test of reliability technology developed for subma-
process rine repeaters, as well as the development of
Highly reliable submarine repeaters require next-generation technologies. In a growing
assured quality through conclusive inspections global submarine market, Fujitsu will proactively
and tests, as well as carefully managed assembly continue to offer its highly reliable devices and
work as mentioned above. The inspection and systems.
test process has been established for all opera-
tions from the assembly of circuit units to the References
final completion and shipment of repeaters. The 1) M. Motegi et al.: Optical Submarine Transmission
Systems. (in Japanese), FUJITSU, 37, 6,
test specifications that define test items, test p.465-472 (1986).
facility specifications, test methods and proce- 2) K. Shimoyamada et al.: Optical Submarine
Repeaters and Branching Units. (in Japanese),
dures, and test standards have been established FUJITSU, 40, 4, p.188-196 (1989).
for the tests and inspections in each process. 3) H. K ar i be et al.: Integ rated Circ uits f or
Submarine Optical Repeaters. (in Japanese),
FUJITSU, 40, 4, p.213-220 (1989).
5. Delivery results and reliability 4) K. Yakuwa: CS-36 MD-System High-Reliability
Parts. (in Japanese), FUJITSU, 26, 2, p.193-207
To date, Fujitsu has delivered a total of (1975).
about 2400 submarine repeaters since its first 5) T. Ikeda et al.: Reliability Technology for
Submarine Repeaters. (in Japanese), FUJITSU,
delivery in 1969. 29, 6, p.919-931 (1978).
The cumulative operating time of all the
submarine repeaters we have delivered is at
least about 0.3 billion hours. During this time,
no Fujitsu submarine repeaters have experienced

154 FUJITSU Sci. Tech. J., 44,2,(April 2008)

 S. Harasawa et al.: Reliability Technology for Submarine Repeaters

Shinichiro Harasawa, Fujitsu Ltd. Kenji Ohta, Fujitsu Ltd.

Mr. Harasawa received the B.S. and Mr. Ohta received the B.S. degree in
M.S. degrees in Atomic Engineering Electric Engineering from Tokyo Denki
from Hokkaido University, Sapporo, University, Tokyo, Japan in 1990. He
Japan in 1984 and 1986, respectively. joined Fujitsu Ltd., Kawasaki, Japan in
He joined Fujitsu Ltd., Kawasaki, Japan 1990, where he has been engaged in
in 1986, where he has been engaged development of submarine repeaters
in development of submarine telecom- and terminal equipment.
munications systems.
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]

Makoto Sumitani, Fujitsu Ltd.

Mr. Sumitani graduated from the
Electronics Engineering department of
Himeji Technical High School, Hyogo,
Japan in 1978. He joined Fujitsu Ltd.,
Kawasaki, Japan in 1978, where he
has been engaged in development
of submarine repeaters. He also
graduated from the Department of
Telecommunications Engineering at
Fujitsu Industrial College in 1982.

E-mail: [email protected]

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