11 March 2014

Molex to release QuatroScale 28G silicon photonics AOCs for low-power, long-reach 100-400G data-center designs

As demand surges for long-reach, low-power solutions supporting next-generation 28Gbps products and data-center applications, high-speed fiber-optic interconnect firm Molex Inc of Lisle, IL, USA plans to unveil a line of QuatroScale active optic solutions for 100, 200 and 400Gbps products.

“Market indications are that the average data-center interconnect in the US is now over 130m in length, operating with 25Gbps multi-mode (MM) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) solutions which target a reach of only 100m,” says Brent Hatfield, product manager for active optics. “Data-center architects and OEM providers are discovering that silicon photonics based optics bring significant advantages in terms of longer reach, with exceptionally low power consumption,” he adds.

The new QuatroScale solutions are designed based on silicon photonics CMOS technology, which achieves the longest reach and lowest bit error rate (BER), coupled with the highest reliability of any 28Gbps product on the market, it is reckoned. QuatroScale 100Gbps zQSFP+ active optical cable (AOC) and on-board module solutions run at a low 1.5W per 100Gbps, but can go up to 4km in distance. Low-power QuatroScale AOCs deliver an achievable 10-18 BER (bit error rate), and over 3 billion device hours accumulated without an in module failure. The compact form-factor QuatroScale zCD AOCs deliver 16 bi-directional channels operating at 28Gbps, with data rates scalable up to 400Gbps bandwidth.

Molex reckons that, providing economical installed cost solutions, its QuatroScale portfolio is uniquely qualified to meet market demand for large and distributed HPC (high-performance computing) data centers. This summer, Molex plans to begin offering samples of the following products based on its silicon photonics optical platform:

• 100Gbps QSFP28 AOCs;

• 200Gbps mid-board optical modules (available in 200Gbps or 2x 100Gbps port products); and

• 400Gbps CDFP MSA AOCs

“The added economic value of the soon-to-be-released modular QuatroScale solutions, combined with the lowest-cost single-mode structured cabling, translates into Molex providing customers with the most economical choice in silicon photonics solutions for next-generation data centers,” reckons Hatfield.

The new QuatroScale 28Gbps solutions are being highlighted in booth 3863 at the Optical Fiber Communications exposition (OFC 2014) in San Francisco (11-13 March), where there will be a 1km transmission demonstration of silicon photonics 28Gbps QSFP+ technology.

Tags: Molex AOC

Visit: www.molex.com