XLoom debuts multi-channel optical chip

By Meghan Fuller

SEPTEMBER 10, 2007 — XLoom Communications (search for XLoom Communications) today announced the availability of its iFlame optical chip, a multi-channel, high-density optical engine for grid computing and data center applications running over InfiniBand, Ethernet, and Fibre Channel.

Implemented as an optical engine, the iFlame may be used in high-speed, high-density optical interconnect applications, replacing bulky copper interconnects that suffer from distance limitations. XLoom representatives note that the iFlame's small package — it is 10 × 5 × 2 mm, or less than 1 CM²The four-channel transmit and receive chip features four 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and four photodiodes and supports data rates of 1.25- to 5-Gbits/sec per channel, for an aggregate rate of 20 Gbits/sec per chip.

The company did not originally intend to make its optical engine commercially available; it was built specifically for use in XLoom's own end-user product. But representatives say XLoom is not particularly concerned about potential competition from its customers; the iFlame can be used in a variety of applications, some of which are not even on XLoom's product roadmap. Instead, the company decided to offer the iFlame "to spur the industry. It wasn't originally in our business plan, but it kicks in nicely because if we sell more of these, the cost to us per device is lower. If we run 20 wafers for ourselves and, let's say, 20 wafers for another customer, everyone wins."

This economy of scale is important to XLoom, as it represents the cornerstone of the company's philosophy and business strategy. The company says it can sell its device around $2 per Gbit today and hopes to increase volumes enough to lower the price to $1 per Gbit.

"We're hoping our customers will make money out of this device by adding their own margins because it's an optical device," says XLoom. "The business proposition is what will drive this, not the fancy technology. Technology will only take you so far; at the end of the day, someone has to make a purchasing decision. People don't buy technology. They buy products and applications, and that's why we've had a lot of vendors look at this and say, 'Okay, we're going to use this if you put it in the right package.' So we are very confident we're going to see very early revenues with this kind of product," they assert.

XLoom also hopes to leverage the four-channel iFlame for emerging 40-Gbit Ethernet (40-GbE) applications, a market that received significant validation when the IEEE Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) recently voted to develop a 40-GbE specification along with its 100-GbE spec. The company expects to be among the first with a product, probably in six to nine months.

The iFlame is ideal for supporting a parallel architecture of four wavelengths of 10-Gbits/sec. apiece, "which is what some folks want to see," explains XLoom. "The advantage is — at least for the face plate — you don't have to redesign your board. If you go with us, we'll have 10-, 20-, and 40-[Gbits/sec] in the same package and in a small form factor. I think that's appealing to people because of the cost associated with integrating new devices, qualifying them, getting them into their procurement system, making sure they are reliable and so on."

The four-channel iFlame is now sampling to customers predominantly in North America. The company anticipates an end-user product — "a drop-in replacement for the copper connector" — in the next four to six weeks.

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