The latest high-capacity optics products for 2024
High-capacity optics are used to increase the amount of data that can be transmitted over optical fibres (Credit: kkssr/Shutterstock.com)
High-capacity optics are used to increase the amount of data that can be transmitted over optical fibres. These include high-density fiber optic cabling, which allows more fibre cores to be accommodated in a given space, multiple optical cored fibre, which transmits light in multiple modes, which allows for higher data transmission rates, and ultra-high-speed optical transceivers, which use a digital signal processor and an optical front-end circuit to convert optical signals to electrical signals and vice versa.
Coherent optical transmission
Coherent optical transmission uses modulation of the amplitude, phase of the light and transmission across two polarisations in order to increase the amount of information transported along the fibre cable. It uses digital signal processing (DSP) at transmitter and receiver level and can offer higher bit-rates, as well as better flexibility.
The popularity of coherent optics has increased in the last few years thanks to their ability to address capacity issues. The last two years have seen a number of trials and demonstrations from vendors and operators alike, highlighting the achievements of higher wavelengths, such as 600G, 800G and more recently, into the terabit wavelength.
Infinera GX Compact Modular Series
The GX Compact Modular Series, powered by Infinera’s ICE7 1.2 Tb/s optical engine, offers superior optical performance and scalable connectivity in a compact, flexible package.
Its modular sled-based architecture with integrated optical line system capabilities, including support for Super C- and Super L-band, delivers up to 25% more capacity per fiber and supports a broad set of network applications.
The GX Series offers leading programmability and performance, with support for up to 1.2 Tb/s per wavelength along with feature-packed automation. It supports deployments over virtually any optical line system and allows operators to save on CapEx and OpEx with industry-leading power consumption and a pay-as-you-grow modular design.
ICE7 embedded optical engine, leverages a 5-nm CMOS DSP and the latest generation of advanced high-speed optics to deliver baud rates of up to 140+ Gbaud. In addition to enabling single wavelengths of 1.2 Tb/s, ICE7 also enables improved wavelength capacity-reach at lower data rates including 1.0 Tb/s, 800 Gb/s, 600 Gb/s, and 400 Gb/s thus reducing cost per bit, power per bit, and the footprint of coherent optical transport.
Find out more about Infinera's GX Compact Modular Series, powered by ICE7 at the company's website.
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High-capacity optics products on the market now
Vendors of high-capacity optical engines, modules and supporting products include Adva, now part of Adtran. Its TeraFlex CoreChannel ensures 800Gb/s transport with high efficiency, high performance and low cost, achieving distances more than 50% longer than 95GBd-based solutions. Its adaptive baud rate ensures that the minimal amount of spectrum is used. This is low when conditions allow. However, the CoreChannel sled’s 140Gbd sub-carrier technology gives it the option to harness ultra-high baud rates and carry up to 800Gb/s further.
Broadcom offers the StrataXGS Tomahawk 5 switch series, providing 51.2 Tb/s of Ethernet switching capacity in a single, monolithic device. It enables the next generation of unified data centre infrastructure with 64 ports of 800GbE switching and routing. Virtualisation of general compute and AI/ML workloads is possible with single-pass VxLAN routing and bridging.
Ciena's WaveLogic 6 with 200GBd optics was designed to support up to 1.6Tb/s single-carrier wavelengths for metro ROADM deployments; 800Gb/s over long links, and energy-efficient 800G pluggables across 1,000km distances.
Acacia’s (part of Cisco) coherent solution, the CIM 8 supports data rates up to 1.2Tb/s, powered by Jannu, the company’s 8th generation DSP ASIC, based on a 5nm CMOS using silicon photonic technology. Live network trials have taken place over ultra long-haul, long-haul and regional network distances.
FS.COM offers a generation of 400G/800G optical solutions with a new portfolio, the highlight of which is a set of 800G transceiver modules, launched in cooperation with Source Photonics. FS hot-pluggable 400G/800G OSFP/QSFP-DD modules feature high speed, high density, and low power consumption. They are ideal for smart, power-efficient and high-performance data centre networks.
Fujitsu’s 1Finity Ultra Optical transport platform is designed to deliver extreme performance and scalability with data rates of 1.2Tb/s on a single wavelength, and the company is already planning a future upgrade to 1.6Tb/s. It features a digital signal processor (DSP) using the latest semiconductor processes and liquid cooling technology which the company says provides twice the cooling capacity of conventional technology.
Hengtong Rockley Technology offers 800G QSFP-DD800 DR8 optical modules, based on EML technology. The company adapted 7nm DSPs with built-in drivers, and COB structure to achieve this 800G QSFP-DD800 DR8 design. The total module power consumption is around 16W.
Huawei’s 800G module is designed to help operators cope with the bandwidth challenges of 5G networks. Amongst its features, line rates can be tuned from 200 to 800Gb/s, making it adaptable to various applications and enabling smooth evolution over the next 10 years. Multiple application scenarios include backbone and metro transmission, as well as data centre interconnections.
Infinera last year revealed its 1.2Tb/s optical engine, the ICE7. ICE7 is designed to benefit operators by helping to drive down cost, space, and power-per-bit, while supporting symbol rates of up to 148GBd. Converge ICTG Solutions recently selected the next-generation high-performance 1.2T ICE7 optical engine for deployment on the Bifrost Cable System. ICE7 is designed to benefit operators by helping to drive down cost, space, and power-per-bit, while supporting symbol rates of up to 140+ GBaud. ICE7 leverages a 5nm DSP and enables 800G-based transmission up to 3,400km. It can also be deployed over almost any type of network. ICE7 and an enhanced multi-haul optical line system were designed to increase the power and flexibility of the company’s GX Series Compact Modular Platform.
InnoLight’s 800G OSFP optical module includes two architecture solutions, 4x100Gx2 and 8X100G. In addition to the traditional EML design, it also adopts a silicon-based solution to meet short-distance transmission needs. The products of this series comply with IEE802.3ck and OSFP MSA standards, and support CMIS4.0. Products are mainly used in 800G Ethernet, data centres and cloud networks.
Lumentum offers a suite of 100 to 800Gb/s optical components to customers looking for coherent products. The company's portfolio provides performance-optimised discrete components, narrow linewidth lasers, high-baud rate coherent modulators and receivers, as well as integrated components for QSFP-DD, OSFP, CFP2, and other small-form-factor pluggable coherent transceivers.
Nokia's sixth-generation coherent photonic service engine, the PSE-6s is designed to power the next generation of coherent transport at up to 1.2Tb/s and be deployed in pairs to power a 2.4Tb/s coherent transport solution. It operates at 130+ GBd, and leverages a 5nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) with silicon photonics for photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
Source Photonics’ 800G PAM4 OSFP/QSFP-DD800 optical transceivers incorporate the in-house vertically integrated 53G EML laser chips and the state-of-the-art 7nm 800G DSP chip for lowest power consumption. It provides various optical fibre connector choices, a smooth transition from single-to-dual port 400G optics in the 800G form factor that requires backward compatibility with the large instalment base of fibre plants.
Viavi offers test and measurement solutions for 800G. The ONT 800G FLEX XPM module is an integrated test solution with a native 800G interface based on 100G electrical lane speed. It supports multiple pluggable form factors including the OSFP 800G and 800G QSFP DD. The ONT 800G FLEX V2 module, along with the ONT DCO and Ethernet modules, provides automated optical transport test features through a 2 x 400G interface. The company’s ONT-800 optical network tester is a rack-mountable, high-performance mainframe that establishes a sturdy foundation for the ONT family of swappable test modules.
This is not an exhaustive list, if you provide high-capacity optical engines, modules and supporting products and would like to be included, please get in touch.
