POET Technologies unveils optical engines for 400G FR4 and 800G

June 30, 2022

The components leverage the company’s POET Optical Interposer integration platform and are expected to be in production by the end of the third quarter of this year.

Stephen Hardy

Optical component supplier POET Technologies Inc. (TSX Venture: PTK; NASDAQ: POET) says has begun shipping samples of its 400G FR4 and 800G (2x400G FR4) Receive (RX) Optical Engines to multiple lead customers. The components leverage the company’s POET Optical Interposer integration platform and are expected to be in production by the end of the third quarter of this year.

The 400G FR4 Receive Optical Engine integrates four 56-Gbaud photodetectors, each operating at 100 Gbps, with a polarization- and temperature-independent arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) -based demultiplexer that is monolithically integrated on the Optical Interposer. A singlemode optical fiber with LC connector is attached to the optical engine for integration in a 400GBASE-FR4 optical transceiver. The resultant device, at 3.8x10 mm, is small enough to enable an 800G 2x400G configuration in both QSFP-DD800 and OSFP optical transceiver modules, the company asserts.

Production of the engines will take place at Super Photonics, a joint venture between POET Technologies and Xiamen Sanan Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd. created to assemble, test, package, and sells optical engines based on POET’s patented Optical Interposer platform.

“We are excited to announce the completion of design, verification testing, and availability of pre-production parts for customers to take advantage of our highly integrated optical engines to build 400G FR4 and 800G (2x400G FR4) transceivers,” said Vivek Rajgarhia, president of POET Technologies. “Our small-form-factor and easy-to-integrate optical engine enables cost-effective and scalable solutions for cloud data centers. Customers can integrate a single receive engine or dual engines in a QSFP-DD or OSFP pluggable transceiver form factor to achieve a 400GBASE-FR4 or 800G (2x400GBASE-FR4) solution. The shipping of 400G receive samples marks a significant milestone for the company, as we continue to commercialize multiple products and align them with the needs of customers.”

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.