News: Optoelectronics
29 September 2023
Coherent unveils first 140GBaud optical subassembly to enable 800G in ultra-compact pluggable form factors
Materials, networking and laser technology firm Coherent Corp of Saxonburg, PA, USA has launched its 140GBaud integrated coherent transmitter-receiver optical subassembly (IC-TROSA), which is claimed to be the first to enable 800G QSFP-DD and OSFP digital coherent optics (DCO) pluggable transceivers for high-speed data-center interconnects and metro networks.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) applications are accelerating the exponential growth of data-center traffic in cloud networks, driving the demand for efficient bandwidth upgrades in data-center interconnects and optical transport networks. The 140GBaud IC-TROSA is claimed to be the first to enable 800Gbps ZR/OpenZR+ transmission in data-center interconnects and metro communications networks in the ultra-dense QSFP-DD and OSFP pluggable form factors. The IC-TROSA is a highly integrated coherent optics subassembly with embedded optical amplification that can deliver high transmitter output power with low power dissipation, enabling DCO modules that can plug directly into routers. The solution is said to lower the total cost of network ownership for hyperscalers and service providers by eliminating an entire layer of transponder equipment.
“This 140GBaud IC-TROSA follows the 64GBaud IC-TROSA introduced in March 2020, which was also an industry first,” says Matthias Berger, VP, coherent technology, at Coherent. “We continue to advance the state of the art of optical transmission in core networks by leveraging the inherent capabilities of our indium phosphide technology platform. Indium phosphide photonic integrated circuits are differentiated by their high output power, which enables disruptive use cases such as IP-over-DWDM in metro networks.”
Coherent’s IC-TROSA was combined with the Orion digital signal processor (DSP) from Marvell to demonstrate the performance capabilities of a complete transceiver solution for 800Gbps transmission.
“Marvell’s close collaboration with Coherent has enabled us to showcase the power of the combination of technologies from two leading companies,” says Samuel Liu Sr, director, product line management, coherent DSP at Marvell. “Together, the 140GBaud IC-TROSA and the Orion coherent DSP enable pluggable transceivers for 800Gbps with more than 500km reach, allowing data-center interconnects to scale network capacity quickly and economically so as to accommodate the surging traffic from AI/ML and other distributed, data-intensive workloads.”
The 140GBaud IC-TROSA is a complete coherent optical engine that includes a wavelength-tunable laser, optical amplifiers, modulators, drivers, a coherent mixer, a photodiode array, and transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs). It features an embedded microcontroller, DAC/ADCs, and a simple digital communication interface for all control and monitoring. The module supports symbol rates of up to 140GBaud and multiple modulation formats, including QPSK, 8QAM, 16QAM, 32QAM and 64QAM. It is designed to meet the requirements of the OIF IC-TROSA Implementation Agreement (Type-2 version). Alpha samples of the 140GBaud IC-TROSA are available now, and the product will be generally available in mid-2024.
Coherent is exhibiting in stand #406 at European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC 2023) in Glasgow, Scotland, UK (2–4 October). At the conference, Coherent is showcasing the most recent additions to its portfolio of differentiated solutions for telecom and datacom optical networks.
