pluggables Archives - EFFECT Photonics

Insights

March 27, 2024

What’s New Inside a 100G ZR Module?

In the optical access networks, the 400ZR pluggables that have become mainstream in datacom applications…

In the optical access networks, the 400ZR pluggables that have become mainstream in datacom applications are too expensive and power-hungry. Therefore, operators are strongly interested in 100G pluggables that can house coherent optics in compact form factors, just like 400ZR pluggables do. The industry is labeling these pluggables as 100ZR.

A recently released Heavy Reading survey revealed that over 75% of operators surveyed believe that 100G coherent pluggable optics will be used extensively in their edge and access evolution strategy. However, this interest had yet to materialize into a 100ZR market because no affordable or power-efficient products were available. The most the industry could offer was 400ZR pluggables that were “powered-down” for 100G capacity.

By embracing smaller and more customizable light sources, new optimized DSP designs, and high-volume manufacturing capabilities, we can develop native 100ZR solutions with lower costs that better fit edge and access networks.

Smaller Tunable Lasers

Since the telecom and datacom industries want to pack more and more transceivers on a single router faceplate, integrable tunable laser assemblies (ITLAs) must maintain performance while moving to smaller footprints and lower power consumption and cost.

Fortunately, such ambitious specifications became possible thanks to improved photonic integration technology. The original 2011 ITLA standard from the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) was 74mm long by 30.5mm wide. By 2015, most tunable lasers shipped in a OIF form factor that cut the original ITLA footprint in half. In 2021, the nano-ITLA form factor designed for QSFP-DD and OSFP modules had once again cut the micro-ITLA footprint almost in half.

There are still plenty of discussions over the future of ITLA packaging to fit the QSFP28 form factors of these new 100ZR transceivers. EFFECT Photonics has developed a solution that monolithically integrates all tunable laser functions (including the wavelength locker) into a novel pico-ITLA (pITLA) module that will become the world’s smallest ITLA for coherent applications. The pITLA is the next step in tunable laser integration, including all laser functions in a package with just 20% of the volume of a nano-ITLA module. The figure below shows that even a standard matchstick dwarves the pITLA in size.

More Efficient DSPs

The 5 Watt-power requirement of 100ZR in a QSFP28 form factor is significantly reduced compared to the 15-Watt specification of 400ZR transceivers in a QSFP-DD form factor. Achieving this reduction requires a digital signal processor (DSP) specifically optimized for the 100G transceiver.

Current DSPs are designed to be agnostic to the material platform of the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) they are connected to, which can be Indium Phosphide (InP) or Silicon. Thus, they do not exploit the intrinsic advantages of these material platforms. Co-designing the DSP chip alongside the PIC can lead to a much better fit between these components.

To illustrate the impact of co-designing PIC and DSP, let’s look at an example. A PIC and a standard platform-agnostic DSP typically operate with signals of differing intensities, so they need some RF analog electronic components to “talk” to each other. This signal power conversion overhead constitutes roughly 2-3 Watts or about 10-15% of transceiver power consumption.

If this InP PIC and the DSP are designed and optimized together instead of using a standard DSP, the PIC could be designed to run at a voltage compatible with the DSP’s signal output. This way, the optimized DSP could drive the PIC directly without needing the RF analog driver, doing away with most of the power conversion overhead we discussed previously.

Industrial Temperature Ranges

Traditionally, coherent devices have resided in the controlled settings of data center machine rooms or network provider equipment rooms. These rooms have active temperature control, cooling systems, dust and particle filters, airlocks, and humidity control. In such a setting, pluggable transceivers must operate within the so-called commercial temperature range (c-temp) from 0 to 70ºC.

On the other hand, the network edge often involves uncontrolled settings outdoors at the whims of Mother Nature. It might be at the top of an antenna, on mountain ranges, within traffic tunnels, or in Northern Europe’s severe winters. For these outdoor settings, transceivers should operate in the industrial temperature range (I-temp) from -40 to 85ºC. Higher altitude deployments provide additional challenges too. Because the air gets thinner, networking equipment cooling mechanisms become less effective, and the device cannot withstand casing temperatures as high as they can at sea level.

Making an I-temp transceiver means that every internal component—lasers, optical engine, DSP—must also be I-temp compliant. Thus, it’s essential to specifically design laser sub-assemblies and DSPs that can reliably work within the I-temp range.

Takeaways

The advent of 100G ZR modules addresses the industry’s need for more affordable and energy-efficient alternatives to implement coherent technologies in access networks. The drive towards miniaturization, exemplified by EFFECT Photonics’ development of the world’s smallest ITLA module, alongside DSP optimizations that minimize power conversion overhead, will help develop pluggables that meet the efficiency and footprint requirements of access networks. Furthermore, it’s necessary for these modules to operate across an I-temp range that can handle a variety of challenging environments in which these networks must operate.

These developments will help operators lay the groundwork for a new generation of coherent optical access networks.

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Tags: 100G ZR, access networks, coherent optics, Cost-effective solutions, Datacom applications, DSP optimization, Edge evolution, efficiency, energy consumption, Environmental challenges, Industrial temperature range, ITLA modules, miniaturization, network operators, Networking equipment, Optical Access Networks., Photonics, Photonics Integration, pluggables, Technology advancements, tunable lasers

Insights

March 20, 2024

Tunable Lasers and DSPs in the Age of AI

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models is transforming several industries, and data centers…

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models is transforming several industries, and data centers are no exception. AI models are computationally heavy, and their increasing complexity will require faster and more efficient interconnections than ever between GPUs, nodes, server racks, and data center campuses. These interconnects will have a major impact on the ability of data center architectures to scale and handle the demands of AI models in a sustainable way.

As we discussed in a previous article, transceivers that fit this new AI era must be fast, smart, and adapt to multiple use cases and conditions. However, what impact will that have on the tunable lasers and digital signal processors (DSPs) inside these transceivers? This article will review a couple of trends in lasers and DSPs to adapt to this new era.

The Power of Laser Arrays

In 2022, Intel Labs demonstrated an eight-wavelength laser array fully integrated on a silicon wafer. These milestones are essential for optical transceivers because the laser arrays can allow for multi-channel transceivers that are more cost-effective when scaling up to higher speeds.

Let’s say we need an intra-DCI link with 1.6 Terabits/s of capacity. There are three ways we could implement it:

Four modules of 400G: This solution uses existing off-the-shelf modules but has the largest footprint. It requires four slots in the router faceplate and an external multiplexer to merge these into a single 1.6T channel.
One module of 1.6T: This solution will not require the external multiplexer and occupies just one plug slot on the router faceplate. However, making a single-channel 1.6T device has the highest complexity and cost.
One module with four internal channels of 400G: A module with an array of four lasers (and thus four different 400G channels) will only require one plug slot on the faceplate while avoiding the complexity and cost of the single-channel 1.6T approach.

Multi-laser array and multi-channel solutions will become increasingly necessary to increase link capacity in coherent systems. They will not need more slots in the router faceplate while simultaneously avoiding the higher cost and complexity of increasing the speed with just a single channel.

Co-Designing DSP and Optical Engine

Transceiver developers often source their DSP, laser, and optical engine from different suppliers, so all these chips are designed separately from each other. In such cases, the DSP is like a Swiss army knife: a jack of all trades designed for different kinds of optical engines but a master of none.

For example, current DSPs are designed to be agnostic to the material platform of the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) they are connected to, which can be Indium Phosphide (InP) or Silicon. Thus, they do not exploit the intrinsic advantages of these material platforms. Co-designing the DSP chip alongside the PIC can lead to a much better fit between these components.

A PIC and a standard platform-agnostic DSP typically operate with signals of differing intensities, so they need some RF analog electronic components to “talk” to each other. This signal power conversion overhead can constitute up to 2 Watts or about 10-15% of transceiver power consumption.

However, the modulator of an InP PIC can run at a lower voltage than a silicon modulator. If this InP PIC and the DSP are designed and optimized together instead of using a standard DSP, the PIC could be designed to run at a voltage compatible with the DSP’s signal output. This way, the optimized DSP could drive the PIC directly without needing the RF analog driver, doing away with most of the power conversion overhead we discussed previously.

Smart Devices Built In Scale

Making coherent optical transceivers more affordable is a matter of volume production. As discussed in a previous article, if PIC production volumes can increase from a few thousand chips per year to a few million, the price per optical chip can decrease from thousands of Euros to mere tens of Euros. Achieving this production goal requires photonics manufacturing chains to learn from electronics and leverage existing electronics manufacturing processes and ecosystems.

While vertically-integrated PIC development has its strengths, a fabless model in which developers outsource their PIC manufacturing to a large-scale foundry is the simplest way to scale to production volumes of millions of units. Fabless PIC developers can remain flexible and lean, relying on trusted large-scale manufacturing partners to guarantee a secure and high-volume supply of chips. Furthermore, the fabless model allows photonics developers to concentrate their R&D resources on their end market and designs instead of costly fabrication facilities.

Further progress must also be made in the packaging, assembly, and testing of photonic chips. While these processes are only a small part of the cost of electronic systems, the reverse happens with photonics. To become more accessible and affordable, the photonics manufacturing chain must become more automated and standardized. It must move towards proven and scalable packaging methods that are common in the electronics industry.

If you want to know more about how photonics developers can leverage electronic ecosystems and methods, we recommend you read our in-depth piece on the subject.

Takeaways

In conclusion, tunable lasers and DSPs are adapting to meet the rising demands of AI-driven data center infrastructure. The integration of multi-wavelength laser arrays and the co-design of DSPs and optical engines are crucial steps towards creating more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective optical transceivers. These devices will be smart and provide some telemetry data, and must shift towards volume production and the adoption of electronics industry methodologies. These innovations not only promise to enhance the capacity and efficiency of data center interconnects but also pave the way for a more sustainable growth trajectory in the face of AI’s computational demands.

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Tags: 100ZR, access network, co-design, coherent, controlled, edge, fit for platform DSP, InP, Integrated Photonics, low power, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, power consumption, power conversion, QSFP 28, QSFP-DD

The power of self-tuning access networks

Insights

January 31, 2024

The Power of Self-Tuning Access Networks

Article first published 16th February 2022, updated 31st January 2024. 5G networks will use higher…

Article first published 16^th February 2022, updated 31^st January 2024.

5G networks will use higher frequency bands, which require the deployment of more cell sites and antennas to cover the same geographical areas as 4G while existing antennas must upgrade to denser antenna arrays. On the side of fixed access networks, the rise of Remote PHY architectures and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) will lead to a similar increase in the density of optical network coverage.

Installing and maintaining these new nodes in fixed networks and optical fronthaul links for wireless networks will require many new DWDM optical links. Even though tunable DWDM modules have made these deployments a bit easier to handle, this tremendous network upgrade still comes with several challenges. Typical tunable modules still require several time-consuming processes to install and maintain, and that time quickly turns into higher expenses.

In the coming decade, the winners in the battle for dominance of access networks will be the providers and countries with the most extensive installed fiber base. Therefore, providers and nations must scale up cost-effectively AND quickly. Every hour saved is essential to reach targets before the competition. Fortunately, the telecom industry has a new weapon in the fight to reduce time-to-service and costs of their future networks: self-tuning DWDM modules.

Plug-and-Play Operation Reduces Time to Service

Typical tunable modules involve several tasks—manual tuning, verification of wavelength channel records—that can easily take an extra hour just for a single installation. Repair work on the field can take even longer if the technicians visit two different sites (e.g., the node and the multiplexer) to verify that they connected the correct fibers. If there are hundreds of nodes to install or repair, the required hours of labor can quickly rack up into the thousands.

Self-tuning allows technicians to treat tunable modules the same way they do with grey transceivers. There is no need for additional training for technicians to install the tunable module. Technicians only need to follow the typical cleaning and handling procedures, plug in the tunable module, and once plugged, the device will automatically scan and find the correct wavelength.

This plug-and-play operation of self-tuning modules eliminates the additional time and complexity of deploying new nodes and DWDM links in optical access networks. Self-tuning is a game-changing feature that makes DWDM networks simpler and more affordable to upgrade, manage, and maintain.

Host-Agnostic and Interoperable

Another way to save time when installing new tunable modules is to let specialized host equipment perform the tuning procedure instead. However, that would require the module and host to be compatible with each other and thus “speak the same language” when performing the tuning procedure. This situation leads to vendor lock-in: providers and integrators could not use host equipment or modules from a third party. This lock-in adds an extra layer of complexity and gives providers less flexibility to upgrade and innovate in their networks.

*Figure 1: Short description and comparison of different approaches to DWDM tunable modules.*

Self-tuning modules do not carry this trade-off because they are “host-agnostic”: they can plug into any host device as long as it accepts third-party 10G grey optics. Just as technicians can treat a self-tuning module as grey, any third-party host equipment can do the same. This benefit is possible because the module takes care of the tuning independently without relying on the host.

Enabling Simpler Network Management

Self-tuning lies at the core of EFFECT Photonics’ NarroWave technology. To implement our NarroWave procedures, we add a small low-frequency modulation signal to the tunable module and specific software that performs wavelength scanning and locking. Since this is a process controlled via software and the added signal is very small, it has no impact on these transceivers’ optical design and performance. It is simply an additional feature that the user can activate. The figure below gives a simplified overview of how NarroWave self-tuning works.

Figure 2: Example of a point to (multi-)point system including NarroWave self-tuning. Each of the 10G SFP+ modules is a full C-band tunable covering ITU channels 12 to 61. This link uses a single fiber for full duplex DWDM transmission, with unique wavelengths for up- and downstream links. When powered up, the modules will scan through different wavelengths, but in this case only the ‘correct’ wavelengths of channels 56 and 60 will go through the mux/demux unit and into the receiver on the other end. That receiver will then acknowledge reception of the signal.

Since self-tuning software requires exchanging commands between modules across the network, it can also enable remote management tasks. For example, our NarroWave communication channel can also allow the operator’s headend module to have read-write control over certain memory registers of the tail-end module. This means that the operator can modify several module variables such as the wavelength channel, power levels, behaviour when turning on/off, all from the comfort of the central office.

In addition, the NarroWave channel also allows the headend module to read diagnostic information from the remote module, such as transmitter power levels, alarms, warnings, or status flags. NarroWave then allows the user to act upon this information and change control limits, initiate channel tuning, or clear flags. These remote diagnostics and management features avoid the need for additional truck rolls and save even more operational expenses. They are especially convenient when dealing with very remote and hard-to-reach sites (e.g., an underground installation) that require expensive truck rolls. Some vendors have made remote installation and management of these modules even more accessible through smartphone app interfaces.

Takeaways

With these advantages, self-tuning modules can help rethink how optical access networks are built and maintained. They minimize the network’s time-to-service by eliminating additional installation tasks such as manual tuning and record verification and reducing the potential for human error. They are host-agnostic and can plug into any third-party host equipment. Furthermore, tunability standards will allow modules from different vendors to communicate with each other, avoiding compatibility issues and simplifying upgrade choices. Finally, the communication channels used in self-tuning can also become channels for remote diagnostics and management, simplifying network operation even further.

Self-tuning modules are bound to make optical network deployment and operation faster, simpler, and more affordable. In our next article, we will elaborate on how to customize self-tuning modules to better fit the needs of specific networks.

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Tags: access networks, DWDM, fixed access networks, flexible, G.metro, Integrated Photonics, OPEX, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, remote diagnostics, remote management, self-tuning, Smart Tunable MSA, Transceivers, tuneability

Insights

February 16, 2023

What DSPs Does the Network Edge Need?

Operators are strongly interested in 100G pluggables that can house tunable coherent optics in compact,…

Operators are strongly interested in 100G pluggables that can house tunable coherent optics in compact, low-power form factors like QSFP28. A recently released Heavy Reading survey revealed that over 75% of operators surveyed believe that 100G coherent pluggable optics will be used extensively in their edge and access evolution strategy.

These new 100G coherent pluggables will have very low power consumption (less than six Watts) and will be deployed in uncontrolled environments, imposing new demands on coherent digital signal processors (DSPs). To enable this next generation of coherent pluggables in the network edge, the next generation of DSPs needs ultra-low power consumption, co-designing with the optical engine, and industrial hardening.

The Power Requirements of the Network Edge

Several applications in the network edge can benefit from upgrading their existing 10G DWDM, or 100G grey links into 100G DWDM, such as the aggregation of fixed and mobile access networks and 100G data center interconnects for enterprises. However, network providers have often chosen to stick to their 10G links because the existing 100G solutions do not check all the required boxes.

100G direct detect pluggables have a more limited reach and are not always compatible with DWDM systems. “Scaled down” coherent 400ZR solutions have the required reach and tunability, but they are too expensive and power-hungry for edge applications. Besides, the ports in small to medium IP routers used in edge deployments often do not support QSFP-DD modules commonly used in 400ZR but QSFP28 modules.

The QSFP28 form factor imposes tighter footprint and power consumption constraints on coherent technologies compared to QSFP-DD modules. QSFP28 is slightly smaller, and most importantly, it can handle at most a 6-Watt power consumption, in contrast with the typical 15-Watt consumption of QSFP-DD modules in 400ZR links. Fortunately, the industry is moving towards a proper 100ZR solution in the QSFP28 form factor that balances performance, footprint, and power consumption requirements for the network edge.

These power requirements also impact DSP power consumption. DSPs constitute roughly 50% of coherent transceiver power consumption, so a DSP optimized for the network edge 100G use cases should aim to consume at most 2.5 to 3 Watts of power.

Figure 1: Normalized power breakdown of the internal blocks of a 400ZR pluggable module. Although this breakdown may vary a bit among different vendors, the authors find it to be generally true for various DSP-based modules, both IM-DD and coherent. Source: R. Nagarajan et al., IEEE JLT (2021)

Co-Designing and Adjusting for Power Efficiency

Achieving this ambitious power target will require scaling down performance in some areas and designing smartly in others. Let’s discuss a few examples below.

Modulation: 400ZR transceivers use a more power-hungry 16QAM modulation. This modulation scheme uses sixteen different states that arise from combining four different intensity levels and four phases of light. The new generation of 100ZR transceivers might use some variant of a QPSK modulation, which only uses four states from four different phases of light.
Forward Error Correction (FEC): DSPs in 400ZR transceivers use a more advanced concatenated FEC (CFEC) code, which combines inner and outer FEC codes to enhance the performance compared to a standard FEC code. The new 100ZR transceivers might use a more basic FEC type like GFEC. This is one of the earliest optical FEC algorithms and was adopted as part of the ITU G.709 specification.
Co-Designing DSP and Optical Engine: As we explained in a previous article about fit-for-platform DSPs, a transceiver optical engine designed on the indium phosphide platform could be designed to run at a voltage compatible with the DSP’s signal output. This way, the optimized DSP could drive the PIC directly without needing a separate analog driver, doing away with a significant power conversion overhead compared to a silicon photonics setup, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 2: Comparison between the drive power and power consumption of three different PIC + DSP pairings: standard DSP with a silicon PIC, standard DSP with an InP PIC, and an optimized DSP with an InP.

Industrial Hardening for DSPs

Traditionally, coherent devices have resided in the controlled settings of data center machine rooms or network provider equipment rooms. These rooms have active temperature control, cooling systems, dust and particle filters, airlocks, and humidity control. In such a setting, pluggable transceivers must operate within the so-called commercial temperature range (c-temp) from 0 to 70ºC.

On the other hand, the network edge often involves uncontrolled settings outdoors at the whims of Mother Nature. It might be at the top of an antenna, on mountain ranges, within traffic tunnels, or in Northern Europe’s severe winters. For these outdoor settings, transceivers should operate in the industrial temperature range (I-temp) from -40 to 85ºC. Higher altitude deployments provide additional challenges too. Because the air gets thinner, networking equipment cooling mechanisms become less effective, and the device cannot withstand casing temperatures as high as they can at sea level.

Industrial Hardening: Coherent Goes Outdoors — Making an I-temp transceiver means that every internal component—lasers, optical engine, DSP—must also be I-temp compliant. Thus, it’s essential to specifically design DSPs that can reliably work within the I-temp range.

Takeaways

The network edge could benefit from switching their existing direct detect or grey links to 100G DWDM coherent. However, the industry needs more affordable and power-efficient transceivers and DSPs specifically designed for coherent 100G transmission in edge and access networks. By realizing DSPs co-designed with the optics, adjusted for reduced power consumption, and industrially hardened, the network edge will have coherent DSP and transceiver products adapted to their needs.

Tags: 100ZR, access network, co-design, controlled, edge, fit for platform DSP, InP, low power, pluggables, power consumption, power conversion, QSFP 28, QSFP-DD

The Light Path to a Coherent Cloud Edge Banner

Insights

May 25, 2022

Improving Edge Computing with Coherent Optical Systems on Chip

Smaller data centers placed locally have the potential to minimize latency, overcome inconsistent connections, and…

Smaller data centers placed locally have the potential to minimize latency, overcome inconsistent connections, and store and compute data closer to the end-user. These benefits are causing the global market for edge data centers to explode, with PWC predicting that it will nearly triple from $4 billion in 2017 to $13.5 billion in 2024. Cloud-native applications are driving the construction of edge infrastructure and services. However, they cannot distribute their processing capabilities without considerable investments in real estate, infrastructure deployment, and management.

This situation leads to hyperscalers cooperating with telecom operators to install their servers in the existing carrier infrastructure. For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is implementing edge technology in carrier networks and company premises (e.g., AWS Wavelength, AWS Outposts). Google and Microsoft have strategies and products that are very similar. In this context, edge computing poses a few problems for telecom providers too. They must manage hundreds or thousands of new nodes that will be hard to control and maintain.

At EFFECT Photonics, we believe that coherent pluggables with an optical System-on-Chip (SoC) can become vital in addressing these datacom and telecom sector needs and enabling a new generation of distributed data center architectures. Combining the optical SoCs with reconfigurable DSPs and modern network orchestration and automation software will be a key to deploying edge data centers.

Edge data centers are a performance and sustainability imperative

Various trends are driving the rise of the edge cloud:

5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT): These mobile networks and sensor networks need low-cost computing resources closer to the user to reduce latency and better manage the higher density of connections and data.
Content delivery networks (CDNs): The popularity of CDN services continues to grow, and most web traffic today is served through CDNs, especially for major sites like Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon. By using content delivery servers that are more geographically distributed and closer to the edge and the end user, websites can reduce latency, load times, and bandwidth costs as well as increasing content availability and redundancy.
Software-defined networks (SDN) and Network function virtualization (NFV). The increased use of SDNs and NFV requires more cloud software processing.
Augment and virtual reality applications (AR/VR): Edge data centers can reduce the streaming latency and improve the performance of AR/VR applications.

Several of these applications require lower latencies than before, and centralized cloud computing cannot deliver those data packets quickly enough. As shown in Table 1, a data center on a town or suburb aggregation point could halve the latency compared to a centralized hyperscale data center. Enterprises with their own data center on-premises can reduce latencies by 12 to 30 times compared to hyperscale data centers.

Type of Edge		Data center	Location	Number of DCs per 10M people	Average Latency	Size
On-premises edge		Enterprise site	Businesses	NA	2-5 ms	1 rack max
Network (Mobile)	Tower edge	Tower	Nationwide	3000	10 ms	2 rack max
	Outer edge	Aggrega- tion points	Town	150	30 ms	2-6 rack max
	Inner edge	Core	Major city	10	40 ms	10+ rack max
Regional edge		Regional	Major city	100	50 ms	100+ racks
Not edge		Hyperscale	State/ national	1	60+ ms	5000+ racks

Table 1: Types of edge data centers and their characteristics. Source: STL Partners

Cisco estimates that 85 zettabytes of useful raw data were created in 2021, but only 21 zettabytes were stored and processed in data centers. Edge data centers can help close this gap. For example, industries or cities can use edge data centers to aggregate all the data from their sensors. Instead of sending all this raw sensor data to the core cloud, the edge cloud can process it locally and turn it into a handful of performance indicators. The edge cloud can then relay these indicators to the core, which requires a much lower bandwidth than sending the raw data.

Figure 1 Global data center traffic vs. useable data created per year. Graphic sourced from Cisco Global Cloud Index.

Edge data centers therefore allow more sensor data to be aggregated and processed to make systems worldwide smarter and more efficient. The ultimate goal is to create entire “smart cities” that use this sensor data to benefit their inhabitants, businesses, and the environment. Everything from transport networks to water supply and lightning could be improved if we have more sensor data available in the cloud to optimize these processes. Distributing data centers is also vital for future data center architectures. While centralizing processing in hyper-scale data centers made them more energy-efficient, the power grid often limits the potential location of new hyperscale data centers. Thus, the industry may have to take a few steps back and decentralize data processing capacity to cope with the strain of data center clusters on power grids. For example, data centers can be relocated to areas where spare power capacity is available, preferably from nearby renewable energy sources. EFFECT Photonics envisions a system of datacentres with branches in different geographical areas, where data storage and processing are assigned based on local and temporal availability of renewable (wind-, solar-) energy and total energy demand in the area.

Figure 2: High-speed fiber-optic connections allow data processing and storage to move to locations where excess (green) energy is available. If power is needed for other purposes, such as charging electric vehicles, data can be moved elsewhere

Coherent technology simplifies the scaling of edge data center interconnects

As edge data center interconnects became more common, the issue of how to interconnect them became more prominent. Direct detect technology had been the standard in the short-reach data center interconnects. However, reaching the distances greater than 50km and bandwidths over 100Gbps required for modern edge data center interconnects required external amplifiers and dispersion compensators that increased the complexity of network operations. At the same time, advances in electronic and photonic integration allowed longer reach coherent technology to be miniaturized into QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors. This progress allowed the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) to create the 400ZR and ZR+ standards for 400G DWDM pluggable modules. With small enough modules to pack a router faceplate densely, the datacom sector could profit from a 400ZR solution for high-capacity data center interconnects of up to 80km. If needed, extended reach 400ZR+ pluggables can cover several hundreds of kilometers. Cignal AI forecasts that 400ZR shipments will dominate in the edge applications, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Forecast of 100G port equivalents shipped for edge applications. These shipments are overwhelmingly 400ZR standard technology. Source: Cignal AI Transport Applications Report Q42021.

Further improvements in integration can further boost the reach and efficiency of coherent transceivers. For example, by integrating all photonic functions on a single chip, including lasers and optical amplifiers, EFFECT Photonics’ optical System-On-Chip (SoC) technology can achieve higher transmit power levels and longer distances while keeping the smaller QSFP-DD form factor, power consumption, and cost.

Maximizing Edge Computing with Automation

With the rise of edge data centers, telecom providers must manage hundreds or thousands of new nodes that will be hard to control and maintain. Furthermore, providers also need a flexible network with pay-as-you-go scalability that can handle future capacity needs. Fortunately, several new technologies are enabling this scalable and automated network management.

First of all, the rise of self-tuning algorithms has made the installation of new pluggables easier than ever. They eliminate additional installation tasks such as manual tuning and record verification. They are host-agnostic, can plug into any third-party host equipment, and scale as you grow. Standardization also allows modules from different vendors to communicate with each other, avoiding compatibility issues and simplifying upgrade choices. The communication channels used for self-tuning algorithms can also be used for remote diagnostics and management, such as the case of EFFECT Photonics NarroWave technology.

Automation potential improves further by combining artificial intelligence with the software-defined networks (SDNs) framework that virtualizes and centralizes network functions. This creates an automated and centralized management layer that can allocate resources efficiently and dynamically. For example, AI in network management will become a significant factor in reducing the energy consumption of future telecom networks.

Figure 2: Comparing a traditional network approach (left) with an SDN/NFC approach (right).

Future smart transceivers with reconfigurable digital signal processors (DSPs) can give the AI-controlled management layer even more degrees of freedom to optimize the network. These smart transceivers will relay more device information for diagnosis, and depending on the management layer instructions, they can change their coding schemes to adapt to different network requirements

Takeaways

Cloud-native applications require edge data centers with lower latency, and that better fit the existing power grid. However, their implementation came with the challenges of more data center interconnects and a massive increase in nodes to manage. Fortunately, coherent pluggables with self-tuning can play a vital role in addressing these datacom and telecom sector challenges and enabling a new generation of distributed data center architectures. Combining these pluggables with modern network orchestration and automation software will boost the deployment of edge data centers. EFFECT Photonics believes that with these automation technologies (self-tuning, SDNs, AI), we can reach the goal of a self-managed, zero-touch automated network that can handle the massive scale-up required for 5G networks and edge computing.

Tags: 400ZR, artificial intelligence, cloud, coherent, computing, data centers, DSP, edge, edge data centers, infrastructure, latency, network, network edge, operators, optical system-on-chip, pluggables, self-tuning, services

Insights

May 4, 2022

The Growing Market for Tunable Lasers

The world is moving towards tunability. The combination of tunable lasers and dense wavelength division…

The world is moving towards tunability. The combination of tunable lasers and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) allows datacom and telecom industries to expand their network capacity without increasing their existing fiber infrastructure. Furthermore, the miniaturization of coherent technology into pluggable transceiver modules has finally enabled the widespread implementation of IP over DWDM solutions.

Self-tuning algorithms have also made DWDM solutions more widespread by simplifying their installation and maintenance. Hence, many application cases—metro transport, data center interconnects, and even future access networks—are moving towards coherent tunable pluggables. The market for coherent tunable transceivers will explode in the coming years, with LightCounting estimating that annual sales will double by 2026. Telecom carriers and especially data center providers will drive the market demand, upgrading their optical networks with 400G, 600G, and 800G pluggable transceiver modules that will become the new industry standards.

Figure 1: Market forecast for coherent DWDM modules by data rate. Source: LightCounting Market Forecast Report (April 2021)

Same Laser Performance, Smaller Package

As the industry moves towards packing more and more transceivers on a single router faceplate, tunable lasers need to maintain performance and power while moving to smaller footprints and lower power consumption and cost. Due to the faceplate density requirements for data center applications, transceiver power consumption is arguably the most critical factor in this use case.

In fact, power consumption is the main obstacle preventing pluggables from becoming a viable solution for a future upgrade to Terabit speeds. Since lasers are the second biggest power consumers in the transceiver module, laser manufacturers faced a paradoxical task. They must manufacture laser units that are small and energy-efficient enough to fit QSFP-DD and OSFP pluggable form factors while maintaining the laser performance. Fortunately, these ambitious spec targets became possible thanks to improved photonic integration technology.

The original 2011 ITLA standard from the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) was 74mm long by 30.5mm wide. By 2015, most tunable lasers shipped in a micro-ITLA form factor that cut the original ITLA footprint in half. In 2021, the nano-ITLA form factor designed for QSFP-DD and OSFP modules has once again cut the micro-ITLA footprint almost in half. The QSFP-DD modules that house the full transceiver are smaller (78mm by 20mm) than the original ITLA form factor. Stunningly, tunable laser manufacturers achieved this size reduction without impacting laser purity and power.

Figure 2: Evolution of tunable laser form factors for coherent optics (2011-2021). Figure from Laser Focus World.

Versatile Laser Developers for Different Use Cases

The different telecom and datacom applications will have different requirements for their tunable lasers. Premium coherent systems used for submarine and ultra-long-haul require best-in-class lasers with the highest power output and purity. On the other hand, metro transport and data center interconnect applications do not need the highest possible laser quality, but they need small devices with lower power consumption to fit router faceplates. Meanwhile, the access network space looks for lower-cost components that are also temperature hardened.

Table 1: Summary of different use cases for high-performance tunable lasers.

These varied use cases provide laser developers with ample opportunities and market niches to provide fit-for-purpose solutions for. For example, a laser module can be set to run at a higher voltage to provide higher output power and reach for premium long-haul applications. On the other hand, tuning the laser to a lower voltage would enable a more energy-efficient operation that could serve more lenient, shorter-reach use cases (links < 250km), such as data center interconnects.

An Independent Player in Times of Consolidation

With the increasing demand for coherent transceivers, many companies have performed acquisitions and mergers that allow them to develop transceiver components internally and thus secure their supply. LightCounting forecasts show that while this consolidation will decrease the sales of modulator and receiver components, the demand for tunable lasers will continue to grow. The forecast expects the tunable laser market for the transceiver to reach a size of $400M in 2026.

Figure 3: Global Market sales for high-performance modulators and receivers as well as tunable lasers. (Historical Data and Forecast). Source: LightCounting Market Forecast Report (April 2021)

We can dive deeper into the data to find the forces that drive the steady growth of the laser market. As shown in Figure 4, the next five years will likely see explosive growth in the demand for high-purity, high-power lasers. The forecast predicts that the shipments of such laser units will increase from roughly half a million in 2022 to 1.4 million in 2026 due to the growth of 400G and 800G transceiver upgrades. However, the industry consolidation will make it harder for component and equipment manufacturers to source lasers from independent vendors for their transceivers.

Figure 4: Units sold in the global market for Tunable Lasers components: legacy, high-purity low-power, and high-purity high-power (Historical Data and Forecast). Source: LightCounting Market Forecast Report (April 2021)

This data indicates that the market needs more independent vendors to provide high-performance ITLA components that adapt to different datacom or telecom provider needs. Following these trends, at EFFECT Photonics, we are not only developing the capabilities to provide a complete coherent transceiver solution but also the nano-ITLA units needed by other vendors.

Takeaways

The world is moving towards tunability. As telecom and datacom industries seek to expand their network capacity without increasing their fiber infrastructure, the sales tunable transceivers will explode in the coming years. These transceivers need tunable lasers with smaller sizes and lower power consumption than ever. Fortunately, the advances in photonic integration are managing to fulfill these laser requirements, leading to the new nano-ITLA module standards. However, even though component and equipment vendors need these tunable lasers for their next-gen transceivers, the industry consolidation can affect their supply. This situation presents an opportunity for new independent vendors to supply nano-ITLA units to this growing market.

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Tags: acquisition, coherent, coherent communication systems, coherent optical module vendor, coherent technology stack, datacenters, datacom, DWDM, high-performance, hyperscalers, independent, Integrated Photonics, lasers, noise, OEM, optical engine, optical transceivers, performance, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, power consumption, reach, self-tuning, Telecom, telecom carriers, Transceivers, tunable, tunable laser, tuneability, VARs, versatile

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April 28, 2022

Co-Designing Optics and Electronics for Versatile and Green Transceivers

Network and data center operators need fast and affordable pluggable transceivers that perform well enough…

Network and data center operators need fast and affordable pluggable transceivers that perform well enough to cover a wide range of link lengths. However, power consumption and thermal management are the big obstacles in the roadmap to scale high-speed transceivers into Terabit speeds.

Over the last two decades, power ratings for pluggable modules have increased as we moved from direct detection to more power-hungry coherent transmission: from 2W for SFP modules to 3.5 W for QSFP modules and now to 14W for QSSFP-DD and 21.1W for OSFP form factors. Rockley Photonics researchers estimate that a future electronic switch filled with 800G modules would draw around 1 kW of power just for the optical modules.

Around 50% of a coherent transceiver’s power consumption goes into the digital signal processing (DSP) chip that also performs the functions of clock data recovery (CDR), optical-electrical gear-boxing, and lane switching. Scaling to higher bandwidths leads to even more losses and energy consumption from the DSP chip and its radiofrequency (RF) interconnects with the optical engine.

Thus, a great incentive exists to optimize the interface between the module’s DSP chip and the optical engine to make the transceiver more energy efficient. This need for optimization and efficiency makes co-designing the optical and electronic systems of the transceiver more important than ever.

Co-Designing the Optimal DSP

Coherent DSPs are already application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), but they could fit their respective optical engines and use cases even more tightly. Transceiver developers often source their DSP, laser, and optical engine from different suppliers, so all these chips are designed separately from each other. This setup reduces the time to market and simplifies the research and design processes but comes with trade-offs in performance and power consumption.

In such cases, the DSP is like a Swiss army knife: a jack of all trades designed for different kinds of PIC but a master of none. For example, many 400ZR+ transceivers used for telecom metro and long-haul applications are using the same DSPs as 400ZR transceivers used for much shorter data center interconnects. Given the ever-increasing demand for capacity and the need for sustainability both as financial and social responsibility, transceiver developers are increasingly in need of a steak knife rather than a Swiss army knife.

Co-designing the DSP chip alongside the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) can lead to a much better fit between these components. A co-design approach helps identify in greater detail the trade-offs between various parameters in the DSP and PIC and thus improve system-level performance optimization. A DSP optimized for a specific optical engine and application could save up to a couple of Watts of power compared to the usual transceiver and DSP designs.

Figure 2: Simplified diagram of the building blocks of a coherent QSFP-DD transceiver. Original diagram source: Infinera

Co-designing DSP Interfaces for Power Efficiency

Since the optical engine and DSP operate with signals of differing intensities, they need some analog electronic components to “talk” to each other. On the transmit side, the electronic driver block takes signals from the DSP, converts them to a higher voltage, and drives the optical engine. On the receive side, a trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) block will boost the weak signal captured by the optical detector so that the DSP can more easily process it. This signal power conversion overhead constitutes roughly 10-15% of transceiver power consumption, as shown in Figure 1.

Co-designing the DSP and PIC could enable ways to decrease this power conversion overhead. For example, the modulator of the optical engine could be designed to run at a lower voltage that is more compatible with the signal output of the DSP. This way, the DSP could drive the optical engine directly without the need for the analog electronic driver. Such a setup could save roughly two watts of power consumption!

Figure-dac grey blocks — Figure 3: Simplified diagram of the building blocks of a coherent QSFP-DD transceiver in which the DSP drives the optical engine directly from its digital-to-analog converter (DAC). This setup can achieve a power consumption improvement of 10-15%.

Co-design is also vital to optimize the transceiver layout floorplan. This plan must consider the power dissipation of all transceiver building blocks to avoid hot spots and thermal interference from the DSP to the highly thermally sensitive PIC. The positioning of all bond pads and interfaces is also very important for signal and power integrity, requiring a co-design with the package and substrate.

During this floorplan development, the RF interconnections between the DSP and PIC can be made as short as possible. These optimized RF interconnects reduce the optical and thermal losses in the transceiver package and will reduce the power consumption of the analog electronic driver and amplifier.

Co-Designing Fit-For-Purpose DSPs and PICs

As shown in Figure 4, a DSP chip contains a sequence of processing blocks that compensate for different transmission issues in the fiber and then recover, decode, and error-correct the data streams. Different applications might require slightly different layouts of the DSP or might not need some processing blocks.

Figure 4: Simplified diagram of the processing blocks of a DSP chip.

For example, full DSP compensation might be required for long links that span several hundreds of kilometers, but a shorter link might not require all the DSP functions. In these cases, a transceiver could turn off or reduce certain DSP functions—such as chromatic dispersion compensation—to save power. These power-saving features could be particularly useful for the cases of shorter data center interconnect links (DCI). On the optical engine side, the laser might not require a high power to transmit over this shorter DCI link so the amplifier functions could shut down. Co-designing the DSP and PIC allows a transceiver developer to mix and match these different energy-saving features to achieve the lowest possible power for a specific application.

Takeaways

Power consumption has become the big barrier that prevents pluggable transceivers from scaling up to 800G and Terabit speeds. Overcoming this barrier requires a tighter fit between the optics and electronics of the transceiver, especially when it comes to the interface between the optical engine and the electronic DSP. By co-designing the optical engine and the electronic DSP, transceiver developers could avoid the need for an external electrical driver and reduce transceiver power consumption by 10-15%. A co-design approach can also make it easier to design fit-for-purpose transceivers that implement power-saving features tailored to specific application cases.

The benefits of this co-design approach led EFFECT Photonics to incorporate talent and intellectual property from Viasat’s Coherent DSP team. With this merger, EFFECT Photonics aims to co-design our Optical System-On-Chip with the DSP to develop fit-for-purpose transceivers that are more energy-efficient than ever before.

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Tags: acquisition, coherent, coherent communication systems, coherent optical module vendor, DSP, FEC, forward error correction, green, green transceivers, high vertical integration, independent coherent optical module vendor, Integrated Photonics, optical digital signal processing, optical engine, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, Transceivers, tunable laser, tuneability

Reconfigurable DSPs for Versatile Pluggables

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April 20, 2022

Reconfigurable DSPs for Versatile Pluggables

Carriers must solve the dilemma of how to use small and affordable coherent pluggables while…

Carriers must solve the dilemma of how to use small and affordable coherent pluggables while still having enough performance and reach to cover most of their network links. At EFFECT Photonics, we believe coherent pluggables with an optical System-on-Chip (SoC) can play a vital role in solving this carrier’s dilemma and simplifying network upgrades. Meanwhile, these new coherent pluggables could also enable longer, and higher-capacity data center interconnects for more sustainable data center architectures.

Another big factor in making networks more affordable and sustainable is software-defined networks (SDNs) and automation. SDNs enable the network function virtualization (NFV), which allows operators to implement more functions to manage and orchestrate the network. Operators will reap even further benefits by using an artificial intelligence (AI) management and orchestration layer with the SDN/NFV layer, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1: Example of a carrier network with different applications (mobile, home, office) automated via NFV control and AI management.

However, creating a fully automated network that can handle the ever-increasing amount of data and connected devices requires us to go beyond just adjusting the higher network layers. The orchestration and management software should also interface with the physical layer of the network, and that requires smart optical pluggable that adapt to varying network requirements. These requirements place additional burdens on digital signal processors (DSPs). DSPs are a vital component of coherent communication systems, as they perform the coding, decoding, and error corrections on the optical signal. Fortunately, the advances in electronic integration and standards make it so that a versatile coherent pluggable can benefit from an equally versatile and reconfigurable DSP.

Future Automated Networks Must Also Work on the Physical Layer

Telecom and datacom providers who want to become market leaders must scale up while also learning to allocate their existing network resources most efficiently and dynamically. SDNs can help achieve this efficient, dynamic network management. In a nutshell, the SDN paradigm separates the switching hardware from the software, allowing operators to virtualize network functions in a single centralized controller unit. This centralized management and orchestration (MANO) layer can implement network functions that the switches do not, allowing network operators to allocate network resources more intelligently and dynamically. This added flexibility and optimization will improve network outcomes for operators.

However, the upcoming 5G networks will consist of a massive number of devices, software applications, and technologies. EFFECT Photonics believes that handling all these new devices and use cases will require self-managed, zero-touch automated networks. Realizing this full network automation requires two additional components alongside SDN and NFV:

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for complete network automation: For example, AI in network management will become a significant factor in reducing the energy consumption of future telecom networks.
Sensor and control data flow across all OSI model layers, including the physical layer: As networks get bigger and more complex, the management and orchestration (MANO) software needs more degrees of freedom and knobs to adjust. Next-generation MANO software needs to adjust and optimize both the physical and network layers to fit the network best.

Achieving the second goal requires smart optical equipment and components that can be diagnosed and managed remotely from the MANO layer. This context is where smart pluggable transceivers with reconfigurable DSPs come into play.

The Importance of Standardized Error Correction

Forward error correction (FEC) implemented by DSPs has become a vital component of coherent communication systems. FEC makes the coherent link much more tolerant to noise than a direct detect system and enables much longer reach and higher capacity. Thanks to FEC, coherent links can handle bit error rates that are literally a million times higher than a typical direct detect link. In other words, FEC algorithms allow the DSP to enhance the link performance without changing the hardware. This enhancement is analogous to imaging cameras: image processing algorithms allow the lenses inside your phone camera to produce a higher-quality image.

Figure 1 Simplified diagram of a network link with Forward Error Correction (FEC). — Figure 3: Simplified diagram of a network link with forward error correction (FEC). The FEC encoder adds a series of redundant bits (called overhead) to the transmitted data stream. The receiver can use this overhead to check for errors without asking the transmitter to resend the data.

When coherent transmission emerged, all FEC algorithms were proprietary. Equipment and component manufacturers closely guarded their FEC because it provided a critical competitive advantage. Therefore, coherent transceivers from different vendors could not operate with each other, and a single vendor had to be used for the entire network deployment. However, vendors had to adapt with data center providers pushing disaggregation deeper into communication networks. Their coherent transceivers needed to become interoperable, so FEC algorithms needed standardization. The OIF 400ZR standard for data center interconnects uses a public algorithm called concatenated FEC (CFEC). In contrast, some 400ZR+ MSA standards use open FEC (oFEC), which provides a more extended reach at the cost of a bit more bandwidth and energy consumption. For the longest possible link lengths (500+ kilometers), proprietary FECs become necessary for 400G transmission. Still, at least the public FEC standards have achieved interoperability for a large segment of the 400G transceiver market.

A Smart DSP to Rule All Network Links

A smart pluggable transceiver that can adapt to all the applications we have mentioned before—data centers, carrier networks, SDNs—requires an equally smart and versatile DSP. It must be a DSP that can be reconfigured via software to adapt to different network conditions and use cases. For example, a smart DSP could switch among different FEC algorithms to adapt to network performance and use cases. For example, let’s look at the case of upgrading a long metro link of 650km running at 100 Gbps with open FEC. The operator needs to increase that link capacity to 400 Gbps, but open FEC could struggle to provide the necessary link performance. However, if the DSP can be reconfigured to use a proprietary FEC standard, the transceiver will be able to handle this upgraded link.

	400ZR	Open ZR+	Proprietary Long Haul
Target Application	Edge data center interconnect	Metro, Regional data center interconnect	Long-Haul Carrier
Target Reach @ 400G	120km	500km	1000 km
Form Factor	QSFP-DD/OSFP	QSFP-DD/OSFP	QSFP-DD/OSFP
FEC	CFEC	oFEC	Proprietary
Standards / MSA	OIF	OpenZR+ MSA	Proprietary

Table 1: Summary of different use cases and standards for a 400G pluggable transceiver.

Reconfigurable DSPs can also be beneficial to auto-configure links to deal with specific network conditions, especially in brownfield links. For example, the DSP can be reconfigured to transmit at a higher baud rate if the link has a good quality fiber. However, the DSP could be reconfigured to scale down the baud rate to avoid bit errors if the fiber quality is poor. If the smart pluggable detects that the fiber length is relatively short, it could scale down the laser transmitter power or the DSP power consumption to save energy.

Takeaways

A versatile pluggable that can handle different use cases – data center links, long metro links, and dynamic management and orchestration layers – must have the ability to use different coding and error coding schemes and adapt to different network requirements. The DSP must be equally versatile and switch among several operating modes – 400ZR, 400ZR+, proprietary – and error correction methods – cFEC, oFEC, and proprietary. Together with a programmable optical system on chip, the DSP can not just add software corrections but also make optical hardware changes (output power, turn amplifiers on/off) to adapt to different noise scenarios. Through these adjustments, the next generation of pluggable transceivers will be able to handle all the telecom carrier and data center use cases we can throw at it.

Tags: acquisition, coherent, coherent communication systems, coherent optical module vendor, DSP, FEC, forward error correction, green, green transceivers, high vertical integration, independent coherent optical module vendor, Integrated Photonics, optical digital signal processing, optical engine, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, Transceivers, tunable laser, tuneability

Insights

April 19, 2022

International growth opportunities for the photonics ecosystem, provided challenges around talent, scale-up and technology are solved

International growth opportunities for the photonics ecosystem, provided challenges around talent, scale-up and technology are…

International growth opportunities for the photonics ecosystem, provided challenges around talent, scale-up and technology are solved

Faster, lighter, more durable, and, at the end of the day, also much cheaper: the benefits of photonic circuits are considerable, for a wide range of applications. And the Netherlands plays an important role, globally, in the development and application of this key technology. In recent years, under the leadership of PhotonDelta, a solid foundation has been laid under the Dutch integrated photonics ecosystem. In the final episode of this series, we survey the playing field with Kathleen Philips (imec) and Boudewijn Docter (EFFECT Photonics). Read the whole series here.

Things are going well for the Dutch ecosystem around integrated photonics. Thanks to the perspectives shared by renowned representatives of this rapidly emerging industry in this series of articles, we learned that an international breakthrough is just around the corner. Obviously, this won’t be possible without a lot of investments. But in addition to that, general manager Kathleen Philips of imec at Holst Centre, three factors are all-important: choosing the right technology, growing into an ‘economy of scale’, and talent.

Imec’s headquarters are in Leuven; in the Netherlands, the renowned research institute is based in Eindhoven (as part of Holst Centre on the High Tech Campus) and Wageningen (with the OnePlanet Research Center). Although the Netherlands is primarily committed to Indium Phosphide (InP) and Silicon Nitride (SiN) production platforms, Kathleen Philips would like to make a case for internationalizing by joining CMOS-based work platforms such as Silicon Photonics (SiPh). “It offers the best opportunities for international support and that is essential for our growth ambitions.”

What is (integrated) photonics? Photonics is similar to electronics. However, instead of electrons, it uses photons (light) to transmit information. Photonic technology detects, generates, transports, and processes light. Current applications include solar cells, sensors, and fiber-optic networks. Photonic chips, officially called Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs), integrate various photonic and often electronic functions into a microchip to make smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient devices. Because they are manufactured like traditional chips (with wafer-scale technology), mass production is also within reach – with price drop as a result. More here.

At imec, Kathleen Philips has an excellent overview of the status of photonics developments in the Netherlands and Belgium. She is thus able to combine the Dutch emphasis on Indium Phosphide and Silicon Nitride with the ‘Leuven’ expertise on Silicon Photonics. “We must be careful not to operate in ‘splendid isolation’. It is precisely in the hybrid combination of platforms that we find the desired connection to the world stage. Moreover, silicon photonics is largely compatible with classical and mainstream CMOS chip production lines, the value of which should never be underestimated. That said; if you need good lasers or low-loss waveguides, then InP and SiN platforms are an essential complement.”

Top-Notch

The next step is in creating an economy of scale, says Philips. “High volume is needed to lower the price of the end product. This automatically means you have to look across borders. Even a European scale is insufficient in that respect; we also have to focus on America and Asia. In photonics, you see the same development as in the semiconductor industry: the promise lies in the high volumes. We know that by scaling up the price goes down.”

The Netherlands has everything it needs to make that leap, Philips emphasizes. “You have to be top-notch to make an impact worldwide. And fortunately, we are. Our R&D is renowned, also historically. We are excellently positioned to connect with the big American flagships, for example. With Eindhoven, Twente and Delft we have academic gems. Their research, their publications, their professors, but also the rich ecosystem of start-ups around them and of course Photondelta: it’s all exactly how we would want to see it. Combine that with the presence of a solid high tech industry with major corporations such as ASML and NXP, and institutes like TNO and imec, and you know that a lot of good things are awaiting us.”

But, Philips warns, “to be successful we must be prepared to look beyond the important Dutch photonics industry and also strategically align ourselves internationally. In particular, the Dutch-Flemish axis offers wonderful opportunities and imec can play a connecting role. From Holst Centre in Eindhoven, we work closely with all the Dutch representatives of the ecosystem. Our colleagues in Leuven have strong international roots, with complementary technology and knowledge.” What helps, she adds, is that both at the Dutch and European level the realization has sunk in that governments can also help financially in this regard. Imec already makes use of Interreg subsidies, but the EU Chips Act is also full of promise in this regard. “And at a national level, there is a chance that the photonics sector can make use of the funding that is going to be distributed through the National Growth Fund. In short: there is much more awareness than before that public investment is important here.”

Talent

In a growth market, finding sufficient talent is always a challenge. In the photonics industry, it is no different. There is no shortage of good universities, says Philips. She mentions the three Dutch Universities of Technology, as well as those of Ghent, Leuven, and Brussels as important centers of expertise. “But you also need crown jewels: companies that capture the imagination so much that they manage to attract the best people, wherever they come from.” As an example, she points to EFFECT Photonics, founded in Eindhoven but grown – in a relatively short time – into a scale-up with some 250 people and offices around the world. “With that, EFFECT also shows how important scaling up is; not just for the company itself, but for our entire ecosystem.”

Indeed, the increasing awareness of EFFECT’s achievements has resulted in more talents knocking on their door. “But in addition to that, we also reach out to the talents ourselves,” adds founder Boudewijn Docter. “In fact, that’s one of the main reasons for our recent acquisition in the United States. We see that young people from all over the world have no trouble finding their way to Eindhoven. Recent graduates and PhDs, for example. They are very important, but we also need more experienced people and for them, it is often more difficult to leave hearth and home for a new workplace on the other side of the world.” And yet it is precisely those people who are desperately needed, Docter says. “The most important engineering skills can only be learned in practice. For the phase in which we are now, trial and error is no longer enough – we also need solid experience.”

This desire to hire more experienced people also leads to more remote work. “But even then, we would like people to come to Eindhoven from time to time, especially if they are working on multidisciplinary projects.” The best is a mix of young and experienced, in-house and remote. “With such a mix, young people find the best circumstances to grow, because they can take an example from their colleagues with a bit more experience.”

Volume

Docter is convinced that the choice to locate EFFECT’s business in places where the talent can be found ultimately also offers advantages for the Netherlands. “By growing all over the world, we become more visible as part of the national and European ecosystem. That in itself then attracts new talent, allowing the entire industry to grow.” This, in turn, is beneficial for this economy of scale also desired by Kathleen Philips. “In the semiconductor industry you always need volume”, Docter also says. “Because only then do you really start to notice the advantages. You have to know which markets you want to work for. For example, do you opt for a flexible design of your device, or a very specific one? Either way, you need to improve and stabilize your manufacturing process, which consists of hundreds of steps. Each step must deliver a 99.9999% yield, but it takes time to get there. Not only for us, by the way, but for all stakeholders in our industry, even the biggest ones. We have not yet built up sufficient experience for ‘First Time Right’, with the reliability that goes with such an ambition, but partly due to the focus on volume, we are already very well on our way to maturity.”

The imec model

Kathleen Philips is pleased that imec can play an important role in this global development. “The imec model, in which we set up R&D programs with various partners in a precompetitive setting, and our emphasis on the integration of different production platforms are essential. We are that neutral zone within which you can technically try out new ideas, and test a prototype in the value chain with limited costs. Sometimes this leads to the creation of new start-ups, or to collaboration with existing parties. But always it creates new or stronger ecosystems that the entire industry can benefit from.”

Tags: green, green transceivers, Integrated Photonics, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, Transceivers, tuneability

Read about the latest technology trends, events, news, announcements and press releases regarding EFFECT Photonics.

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April 13, 2022

Solving the Carrier’s Dilemma with Optical Systems-On-Chip

In the coming decade, the network providers and countries with the most extensive installed base…

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pluggables

Smaller Tunable Lasers

More Efficient DSPs

Industrial Temperature Ranges

Takeaways

The Power of Laser Arrays

Co-Designing DSP and Optical Engine

Smart Devices Built In Scale

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Plug-and-Play Operation Reduces Time to Service

Host-Agnostic and Interoperable

Enabling Simpler Network Management

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The Power Requirements of the Network Edge

Co-Designing and Adjusting for Power Efficiency

Industrial Hardening for DSPs

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Edge data centers are a performance and sustainability imperative

Coherent technology simplifies the scaling of edge data center interconnects

Maximizing Edge Computing with Automation

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Same Laser Performance, Smaller Package

Versatile Laser Developers for Different Use Cases

An Independent Player in Times of Consolidation

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Co-Designing the Optimal DSP

Co-designing DSP Interfaces for Power Efficiency

Co-Designing Fit-For-Purpose DSPs and PICs

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Future Automated Networks Must Also Work on the Physical Layer

The Importance of Standardized Error Correction

A Smart DSP to Rule All Network Links

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Moving IP over DWDM from Datacom to Telecom

A System-on-Chip Enables Greater Reach

One plug to rule all network links

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