Several factors are driving the need to upgrade high-speed optical transceivers: the acceleration of global digitalization, notably the bandwidth surge due to the emergence of AI large language models represented by ChatGPT4.0 and the rapid development of related applications.
800G optical modules, the default configuration of choice for the latest generation of optical transmission systems, have projected huge market application potential. Also, to satisfy the strong desire for low-cost, low-latency and low-power consumption by next-generation telecom metro applications, the 800G 4x200G LR4 10km direct detection solution has attracted more attention from operators, equipment manufacturers and optical module vendors over the corresponding coherent solutions. The industrial supply chain of single-lambda 226 Gbps high-speed optical chips, DSPs and electrical chips, and RF packaging technologies related to direct detection solutions has gradually matured.
The 800G LR4 OSFP optical modules incorporate the high-power single lambda 200G PAM4 EML lasers assisted with 3D hybrid electro-optical on-board packaging for RF characteristics and with a LAN-WDM grid, low-loss package interconnect design and a WDM multiplexer, exceeding the wavelength requirements for the telecom-grade LAN-WDM. The receiving end consists of a highly integrated PIN+TIA receiver array combined with the high-performance start-of-the-art 5nm CMOS DSP equalization algorithm, and the transmission distance can reach up to 10km.
During ECOC 2023, Source Photonics collaborated with its partners Keysight, Broadcom and other industry partners to demonstrate the performance of the 800G 4x200G LR4 OSFP in real-time during the ECOC 2023 exhibition. The transmitter eye quality and LAN-WDM optical spectra are shown in Figure 1. The test platform is based on Keysight’s N1078A CDR and DCA-X N1030A sampling oscilloscope (Figure 2), which analyzes the transmitter optical eye quality modulated at 226Gb/s PAM4 signaling.
The demonstration of the industry’s first 800G 4x200G 10km optical transceiver solution remarks the continuous application of 200G PAM4 direct detection technology into the fields of 800G and 1.6T high-speed optical interconnections. Compared with the first generation using a single lambda 100G PAM4 EML lasers, the 800G LR4 optical modules reduce the number of lasers by 50%, effectively reducing costs, simplifying manufacturing processes, and improving production yield.
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