FRANKFURT--During this week’s ECOC 2024 tradeshow, optical vendors are showing off wares that offer lower power and greater capacity to accommodate the growth of hyper scale data center operators delivering AI services and traditional providers expanding broadband services.
On day one of our ECOC product showcase, we are looking at new products from Ciena, Dust Photonics, Eoptolink, Fast Photonics, Marvell, OE Solutions, TeraSignal, and VIAVI.
Tune into tomorrow and throughout the rest of the show for other new product announcements.
Data center/AI focus
Unsurprisingly, a key focus of the new pluggable and transceiver products is to address the growth of hyperscaler providers driven by cloud and AI/ML applications.
Ciena targets hyperscalers with a 1.6 Tbps coherent pluggable solution
Ciena is capitalizing on the expected growth in cloud, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) related traffic with its 1.6 Tbps Coherent-Lite pluggable. The vendor’s WaveLogic 6 Nano (WL6n) will now offer 1.6 Tbps and 800 Gbps coherent pluggable solutions. By supporting dual 800G data paths within a single DSP chip, the 3nm coherent ASIC used in WL6n enables the 1.6 Tbps Coherent-Lite pluggable offering. Coherent-Lite is the power and latency-optimized coherent design for shorter-reach data center applications. Ciena’s WL6n Coherent ASIC will be available for electro-optic integration by the end of this year. The WL6n 1.6 Tbps pluggable prototype will be showcased in Ciena’s booth at A14.
DustPhotonics launches 1.6 Tbps silicon photonics engine
DustPhotonics, a developer of silicon photonics technology and solutions for hyperscale data center and AI applications, has debuted a merchant silicon photonics engine for 1.6 Tbps DR8 applications, targeting AI and hyperscale data centers. The engine supports eight channels, each independently capable of operating at up to 224G/channel. A second variant is also available, supporting four channels for 800 Gbps DR4 applications. The devices will support a multitude of AI and hyperscale datacenter applications. The standard product is suitable for reaches of up to 2km. A lower-cost version, tailored for short-reach applications up to 100m, will also use a single laser instead of 2 lasers for 1.6 Tbps operation. In addition, the products are highly suitable for LRO (Linear Receive Optics) and LPO (Linear Pluggable Optics) transceiver applications and can be employed in immersion cooling applications. The products are currently available for sampling and will be released to production by the end of this year.
Eoptolink releases transceivers for AI/ML clusters and cloud datacenter networks
Eoptolink is offering its new OSFP 1.6 Tbps DR8/DR8-2 and 2xFR4 transceivers, enabling the next generation of high bandwidth networks for AI/ML clusters and cloud data centers. The vendor’s 1.6 Tbps OSFP transceivers have eight electrical host interfacing lanes and eight optical lanes operating at 212.5 Gbps (106GB with PAM4). Equipped with the latest DSP, these modules support transmission distances of up to 2km without regenerating the FEC. The 1.6T DR8 and DR8-2 modules have either one MPO-16 adapter for point-to-point (P2P) connections or two MPO-12 adapters for 2x800G breakout applications. The 1.6 Tbps 2xFR4 modules are designed with a dual duplex LC connector running with only two pairs of fibers, which could help users save fiber resources compared to DR8 and DR8-2 versions.
Fast Photonics showcases its 1.6 Tbps SiPh-based transceiver
Fast Photonics is demonstrating the SiPh-based 1.6T Optical transceiver at ECOC 2024. This transceiver will utilize the industry's 8 X 200G/lane Silicon photonic integrated circuits and be based on Fast Photonics' next-generation transceiver technology. The demonstration will show the entire operation of a 1.6T DR8 OSFP module that reaches up to 2 KM. To mitigate any potential supply chain disruptions, Fast Photonics is offering these products from dual manufacturing sites. The 1.6 Tbps product line offers DSP, LPO, and LRO products, both multi-mode and single-mode solutions. The initial products will be available in OSFP formats.
OE SOLUTIONS debuts ELSFP co-packaged optics module
OE SOLUTIONS, a provider of advanced optical components and solutions, introduced its External Laser Small Form Factor (ELSFP) solution. This product incorporates Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) technology, providing sufficient optical power to the optical engines used in switches, network interface cards, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The ELSFP form factor, characterized by its small size and low power consumption, is well-suited for many applications, including data centers, metro networks, and 5G infrastructure. OE Solutions will be sampling its ELSFP modules to select customers in the fourth quarter of 2024, with general availability expected in the first half of 2025.
TeraSignal’s TSLink addresses plug-and-play linear optics in AI infrastructure.
TeraSignal has introduced TSLink, an intelligent chip-to-module (C2M) interconnect designed to accommodate data transmission between large ASICs and linear optical modules. The TSLink solution automates link training and performance monitoring without additional digital signal processors (DSPs), leveraging existing microcontroller resources in optical modules. TSLink reduces power consumption and latency while simplifying deployment, enabling plug-and-play linear optics solution for AI and high-performance computing. TeraSignal now offers TSLink reference designs, complete with TSLink firmware and the TS8401/02 Intelligent Re-Driver, to select partners and customers. Broader TSLink reference design availability is expected later this year.
Test/Measurement
In addition to the transceiver and optical pluggable solutions, test and measurement companies are also developing new solutions to measure network performance.
One of the critical companies that’s making headway is VIAVI.
VIAVI serves up microscopy solution
Viavi has introduced a new optical connector inspection solution for next-generation transceivers. The FVAM-2000 is the latest addition to the company's benchtop microscopy line and will be on display at VIAVI Stand A1 during ECOC 2024 along with other new optical and Ethernet testing solutions. Parallel optic connectors, including multi-fiber push on (MPO), are driving a need for new and advanced inspection test methods to simplify operation and workflow in manufacturing. The FVAM-2000 addresses MPO and other new bulkhead connectors designed into 800G formats, such as the octal small form factor pluggable (OSFP) and quad small form factor pluggable (QSFP). This advanced inspection solution features a new, easy-to-attach, easy-to-change connector interface accommodating bulkhead-type devices. FVAM-2000 also has an advanced automation framework that enables it to integrate into a PC-driven workflow, critical in high-volume manufacturing environments.
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