Ranovus debuts 200-Gbps PAM4 direct detect optical transceiver

Ranovus Inc. says its 200-Gbps CFP2 optical transceiver for data center interconnect (DCI) is now available. The company asserts the optical module will support robust and cost-effective end-to-end scalable bandwidth connectivity for the DWDM metro network and cloud infrastructure markets at 80 km and potentially beyond.

The optical transceiver leverages the company's multiwavelength Quantum Dot Laser (QDL), ring resonator based silicon photonic modulators, driver ICs, as well as receiver building blocks. It also contains what Ranovus described in a press release as "an industry leading 56-Gbps PAM4 PHY solution" with a PAM4 codec and forward error correction (FEC).

The direct-detect CFP2 will fit into slots designed for CFP2 Digital Coherent Optics (CFP2-DCO) optical transceivers, a class of modules Ranovus hopes its new transceivers will replace.

The CFP2 supports DCI and metro access distances of 15, 40, and 80 km "and beyond," Ranovus asserts. It will support 96 DWDM channels in the C-Band initially, thanks to the QDL technology, with L-Band coverage planned for the future. That translates to 1.6 Tbps for a 1RU shelf.

The 56-Gbps PAM4 PHY offers multiple programmable FEC options and includes full diagnostics and self-monitoring capabilities. Ranovus did not mention its source for the PHY in this release, but a company source stated at OFC 2016 that Ranovus was working with Broadcom.

The current announcement follows one released during ECOC last September that revealed the 200G optical transceiver had reached the sampling stage (see "Ranovus unveils optical engine, 200-Gbps PAM4 optical transceiver").

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