Nokia has unveiled its WaveFabric Elements portfolio. Leveraging the assets of the recently acquired Elenion Technologies (see “Nokia to buy silicon photonics technology supplier Elenion”) as well as existing expertise, the first items in the WaveFabric Elements line include the 400G-optimized Photonic Service Engine V (PSE-V) DSPs as well as silicon photonics based optical engines. Nokia also revealed that it plans to use these elements to build 400G optical transceivers for its own use. The optical engines, based on Elenion’s Coherent Silicon Transmitter and Receiver (CSTAR) approach, will be made available to the market.
As was the case with the company’s previous DSP generation, the PSE-3, the PSE-V comes in two versions. (And no, Nokia didn't start, then abandon work on a PSE-4. According to Kyle Hollasch, director of product marketing for optical networking at Nokia, they were always one generation behind with their numbering, which they decided to correct this time out.) The PSE-Vs (for “super coherent”) is the higher performing of the two, offering 90-Gbaud capabilities enhanced with the second generation of Nokia’s take on probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS). The PSE-Vs will enable 800G transmission, while increasing reach by 60% and spectral efficiency by 15%, and lowering cost per bit by 40% over the previous DSP generation. Hollasch expects the PSE-Vs will find most if not all of its deployments on the line cards of the company’s core optical transport systems, such as the 1830 PSS, and OTN transport platforms.
The smaller PSE-Vc (for “compact”) will be optimized for 100G to 400G metro to long-haul applications. Among other potential uses, the PSE-Vc will power Nokia’s in-house CSTAR-enabled optical transceiver developments. Hollasch says that a CFP2-DCO (for 400G multihaul) and QSFP-DD (for 400ZR/ZR+ applications) are slated to be available by the fourth quarter of this year.
The transceivers are targeted at Nokia’s own applications (at least initially – Hollasch indicated there is a chance they could be offered to the market via partners) and offering the DSPs as independent products is “something we are exploring,” Hollasch said. The CSTAR optical engines, however, will continue to be offered on the open market. Hollasch pointed toward existing relationships with Jabil and Molex as examples of how at least this part of the WaveFabric Elements portfolio will reach the market through companies other than Nokia (see, for example, "Molex, Elenion Technologies extend silicon photonics collaboration").
"Nokia is one of a select few companies with the experience of building five generations of DSPs,” commented Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst at Cignal AI, via a Nokia press release. “The company’s expertise in vertical integration is a key competitive advantage in the battle for next-generation coherent solutions. The focus on 400G transport in the PSE-V is well-positioned for market needs."
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