Acacia Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIA) said its 100G/200G CFP2-digital coherent optics (DCO) and 100G CFP-DCO for ZR applications are now generally available. Acacia attests that its new ZR optical transceivers will meet growing capacity needs in network access, edge, and enterprise campus applications.
The CFP2-DCO ZR and CFP-DCO ZR optical modules leverage Acacia's proprietary digital signal processor (DSP) and silicon photonic expertise. According to Acacia, the optical transceivers support unamplified application requirements beyond the reach of 40 km standardized in the industry and extend to 80 km and further. The CFP-DCO ZR module can support the 18 W power class that was deployed for 10-km client applications.
Acacia expects to be first in line with such ZR products as shorter-reach applications gain the attention of industry standards organizations. Standards adapting traditional 80-km ZR requirements for coherent transmission are under development for 100G, 200G, and 400G (see, for example, "OIF launches coherent transmission projects"). Applications that range from hyperscale data center interconnection to residential access networks aggregation and 5G backhaul are the converging requirement drivers for these coherent interfaces, says the company.
At least one potential customer agrees. "Based on our experience with network operators, we see increasing demand for 100G and above in access aggregation markets," said Jimmy Mizrahi, vice president, global portfolio with ECI. "We believe coherent 100G and 200G ZR solutions, in compact pluggable form factors, will be an attractive solution for network operators with requirements for reaches greater than 40km in applications such as 5G backhaul and cable access."
"Traditionally, coherent optical transmission was primarily used for longer reach applications, but traffic patterns are changing in ways that are leading to the need for high capacity interconnects that target shorter reaches in a power efficient and cost-effective manner," said Tom Williams, Acacia Communications senior director of marketing. "ZR optics address this need. Acacia pioneered the coherent ZR offering with our industry first CFP-DCO form factor and our vision is to continue to expand the use of coherent technology in shorter reach applications."
Last month, Acacia and Oclaro announced that they will collaborate to set up the latter as a second source of 100G/200G CFP2-DCO coherent optical transceivers based on Acacia's Meru DSP (see "Acacia, Oclaro join for CFP2-DCO optical transceivers").
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