coherent Archives - EFFECT Photonics

02 October 2023 - 04 October 2023

9:30 am - 4:30 pm

EFFECT Photonics #547

Discover Where Light Meets Digital at ECOC2023

Join us from October 2nd-4th, 2023 at ECOC Exhibition in Sec, Glasgow, Scotland, the largest optical communications exhibition in Europe at stand #547.

Insights

July 11, 2023

Where is 100ZR Needed?

Simply relying on traditional direct detect technologies will not meet the growing bandwidth and service…

Simply relying on traditional direct detect technologies will not meet the growing bandwidth and service requirements of mobile, cable, and business access networks, particularly regarding long-distance transmission. In many instances, deploying 100G coherent dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology becomes essential to transmit larger volumes of data over extended distances.

Several applications in the optical network edge could benefit from upgrading from 10G DWDM or 100G grey aggregation uplinks to 100G DWDM optics:

Mobile Mid-haul: Seamless upgrade of existing uplinks from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Mobile Backhaul: Upgrading links to 100G IPoDWDM.
Cable Access: Upgrading uplinks of termination devices like optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Business Services: Scaling enterprise bandwidth beyond single-channel 100G grey links.

However, network providers have often been reluctant to abandon their 10G DWDM or 100G grey links because existing 100G DWDM solutions did not fulfill all the requirements. Although “scaled-down” coherent 400ZR solutions offered the desired reach and tunability, they proved too expensive and power-intensive for many access network applications. Moreover, the ports in small to medium IP routers used in most edge deployments do not support the commonly used QSFP-DD form factor of 400ZR modules but rather the QSFP28 form factor.

How Coherent 100ZR Can Move into Mobile X-haul

Figure-5gc-dwdm-midhaul — Figure 1: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link in the midhaul and backhaul of a mobile network.

The transition from 4G to 5G has transformed the radio access network (RAN) structure, evolving it from a two-level system (backhaul and fronthaul) in 4G to a three-level system (backhaul, midhaul, and fronthaul) in 5G:

Fronthaul: The segment between the active antenna unit (AAU) and the distributed unit (DU).
Midhaul: The segment from DU to the centralized unit (CU).
Backhaul: The segment from CU to the core network.

Figure-backhaul-fronthaul — Figure 2: Simplified diagram that shows and compares the building blocks of 4G (left) and 5G (right) access networks and the links between these blocks.

Most developed countries have already initiated the rollout of 5G, with many operators upgrading their 1G SFP transceivers to 10G SFP+ devices. Some of these 10G solutions incorporated DWDM technology, but many were single-channel grey transceivers. However, to advance to the next phase of 5G deployments, mobile networks must install and aggregate a greater number of smaller base stations to accommodate the exponential increase in connected devices.

These advanced stages of 5G deployment will necessitate operators to cost-effectively scale fiber capacity using more prevalent 10G DWDM SFP+ solutions and 25G SFP28 transceivers. This upgrade will pressure the aggregation segments of mobile backhaul and midhaul, which typically rely on link aggregation of multiple 10G DWDM links into a higher bandwidth group (e.g., 4x10G).

Figure 4x10G link aggregation — Figure 3: Comparison between 4x10G link aggregation and using a single coherent 100ZR link.

However, this type of link aggregation involves splitting larger traffic streams and can be intricate to integrate within an access ring. Adopting a single 100G uplink diminishes the need for such link aggregation, simplifying network configuration and operations. To gain further insight into the potential market and reach of this link aggregation upgrade, it is recommended to consult the recent Cignal AI report on 100ZR technologies.

Coherent 100ZR Uplinks Driven by Cable Migration to 10G PON

Figure-Fixed-Access-Uplinks-DWDM — Figure 4: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link between the coherent termination device (CTD) and the hub in a cable access network.

Cignal AI’s 100ZR report also states that the primary catalyst for 100ZR adoption will be the multiplexing of fixed access network links transitioning from 1G to 10G. This trend will be evident in the long-awaited shift of cable networks from Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) to 10G PON, driven by the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard. This standard promises 10Gbps download speeds for customers and necessitates several hardware upgrades in cable networks.

To multiplex these larger 10Gbps customer links, cable providers and network operators must upgrade their optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) with 100G DWDM uplinks. Additionally, many of these new optical hubs will support up to 40 or 80 optical distribution networks (ODNs), making the previous approach of aggregating multiple 10G DWDM uplinks insufficient for handling the increased capacity and higher number of channels.

Anticipating these needs, the non-profit R&D organization CableLabs has recently spearheaded the development of a 100G Coherent PON (C-PON) standard. This proposal offers 100 Gbps per wavelength with a maximum reach of 80 km and a split ratio of up to 1:512. CableLabs envisions that C-PON, with its 100G capabilities, will play a significant role not only in cable optical network aggregation but also in other scenarios such as mobile x-haul, fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), long-reach rural areas, and distributed access networks.

Advancements in Business Services with 100ZR Coherent and QSFP28

Figure-cloud-DWDM — Figure 5: Simplified diagram of a DWDM link between a business and a cloud provider.

Nearly every organization utilizes the cloud in some capacity, whether for resource development and testing or software-as-a-service applications. However, leveraging the cloud effectively requires fast, high-bandwidth wide-area connectivity to ensure optimal performance of cloud-based applications.

Like cable networks, enterprises will need to upgrade their existing 1G Ethernet private lines to 10G Ethernet to meet these requirements, consequently driving the demand for 100G coherent uplinks. Cable providers and operators will also seek to capitalize on their upgraded 10G PON networks by expanding the reach and capacity of their business services.

The business and enterprise services sector was an early adopter of 100G coherent uplinks, deploying “scaled-down” 400ZR transceivers in the QSFP-DD form factor when they were the available solution. However, since QSFP-DD slots also support QSFP28 form factors, the emergence of QSFP 100ZR solutions presents a more appealing upgrade for these enterprise applications, offering reduced cost and power consumption.

While QSFP28 solutions had struggled to gain widespread acceptance due to the requirement for new, low-power digital signal processors (DSPs), DSP developers and vendors are now actively involved in 100ZR development projects: Acacia, Coherent/ADVA, Marvell/InnoLight, and Marvell/OE Solutions. This is also why EFFECT Photonics has announced its plans to co-develop a 100G DSP with Credo Semiconductor that best fits 100ZR solutions in the QSFP28 form factor.

Table Comparison QSFP-DD and QSFP-28. — Figure 6: Comparison between QSFP-DD and QSFP-28 form factors for 100G applications.

Takeaways

In the coming years, deploying and applying 100G coherent uplinks will witness increasing prevalence across the network edge. Specific use cases in mobile access networks will require transitioning from existing 10G DWDM link aggregation to a single coherent 100G DWDM uplink.

Simultaneously, the migration of cable networks and business services from 1Gbps to 10Gbps customer links will be the primary driver for the demand for coherent 100G uplinks. For carriers providing converged cable/mobile access, these uplink upgrades will create opportunities to integrate additional business services and mobile traffic into their existing cable networks.

As the ecosystem for QSFP28 100ZR solutions expands, production will scale up, making these solutions more widely accessible and affordable. This, in turn, will unlock new use cases within access networks.

Tags: 100G, 100G ZR, 100ZR, 10G, 10G PON, 5G, 5G deployment, aggregation, backhaul, bandwidth, business service, Business services, Cable access, cable networks, CCAP, Cloud connectivity, coherent, Coherent DWDM, Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs), edge, Ethernet private lines, Fiber capacity, fronthaul, FTTH, IoT, Link aggregation, midhaul, mobile, mobile access network, mobile networks, Network providers, OLT, Optical line terminals (OLTs), PON, power, QSFP-DD, QSFP28, revenue, traffic, upgrade, uplink, Wide-area connectivity

Insights

July 5, 2023

The Evolution to 800G and Beyond

Article first published 26th October 2022, updated 5th July 2023. The demand for data and…

Article first published 26^th October 2022, updated 5^thJuly 2023.

The demand for data and other digital services is rising exponentially. From 2010 to 2020, the number of Internet users worldwide doubled, and global internet traffic increased 12-fold. From 2020 to 2026, internet traffic will likely increase 5-fold. To meet this demand, datacom, and telecom operators need constantly upgrade their transport networks.

400 Gbps links are becoming the standard for links all across telecom transport networks and data center interconnects, but providers are already thinking about the next steps. LightCounting forecasts significant growth in shipments of dense-wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) ports with data rates of 600G, 800G, and beyond in the next five years.

shipments-dwdm — Figure 1: Shipments of high-speed DWDM ports by data rate (historical data and forecast). Source: LightCounting Optical Communications Market Forecast, April 2022.

The major obstacles in this roadmap remain the power consumption, thermal management, and affordability of transceivers. 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.

Thus, many incentives exist to continue improving the performance and power consumption of pluggable optical transceivers. By embracing increased photonic integration, co-designed PICs and DSPs, and multi-laser arrays, pluggables will be better able to scale in data rates while remaining affordable and at low power.

Direct Detect or Coherent for 800G and Beyond?

While coherent technology has become the dominant one in metro distances (80 km upwards), the campus (< 10 km) and intra-data center (< 2 km) distances remain in contention between direct detect technologies such as PAM 4 and coherent.

These links were originally the domain of direct detect products when the data rates were 100Gbps. However, as we move into Terabit speeds, the power consumption of coherent technology is much closer to that of direct detect PAM-4 solutions.

A major reason for this decreased gap is that direct detect technology will often require additional amplifiers and compensators at these data rates, while coherent pluggables do not. This also makes coherent technology simpler to deploy and maintain. Furthermore, as the volume production of coherent transceivers increases, their price will also become competitive with direct detect solutions.

Increased Integration and Co-Design are Key to Reduce Power Consumption

Lately, we have seen many efforts to increase further the integration on a component level across the electronics industry. For example, moving towards greater integration of components in a single chip has yielded significant efficiency benefits in electronics processors. Apple’s M1 processor integrates all electronic functions in a single system-on-chip (SoC) and consumes a third of the power compared to the processors with discrete components used in their previous generations of computers. We can observe this progress in the table below.

Mac Mini Model	Power Consumption (Watts)
Mac Mini Model	Idle	Max
2023, M2	7	5
2020, M1	7	39
2018, Core i7	20	122
2014, Core i5	6	85
2010, Core 2 Duo	10	85
2006, Core Solo or Duo	23	110
2005, PowerPC G4	32	85

Table 1: Comparing the power consumption of a Mac Mini with an M1 SoC chip to previous generations of Mac Minis. [Source: Apple’s website]

Photonics can achieve greater efficiency gains by following a similar approach to integration. The interconnects required to couple discrete optical components result in electrical and optical losses that must be compensated with higher transmitter power and more energy consumption. In contrast, the more active and passive optical components (lasers, modulators, detectors, etc.) manufacturers can integrate on a single chip, the more energy they can save since they avoid coupling losses between discrete components.

integrated-laser — Figure 2: Example of integrating a laser to other photonic components through different integration approaches. The approach of full integration (right side) is the one that minimizes losses.

Reducing Complexity with Multi-Laser Arrays

Earlier this year, Intel Labs demonstrated an eight-wavelength laser array fully integrated on a silicon wafer. These milestones will provide more cost-effective ways for pluggables to scale to higher data rates.

Let’s say we need a data center interconnect 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.

comparison-module — Table 2: Comparison of different ways to implement a 1.6 Terabit/s link: four modules of 400G, a single-channel 1.6T module, and a module with four channels of 400G.

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.

Takeaways

The pace of worldwide data demand is relentless, with it the pace of link upgrades required by datacom and telecom networks. 400G transceivers are currently replacing previous 100G solutions, and in a few years, they will be replaced by transceivers with data rates of 800G or 1.6 Terabytes.

The cost and power consumption of coherent technology remain barriers to more widespread capacity upgrades, but the industry is finding ways to overcome them. Tighter photonic integration can minimize the losses of optical systems and their power consumption. Finally, the onset of multi-laser arrays can avoid the higher cost and complexity of increasing capacity with just a single transceiver channel.

Tags: bandwidth, co-designing, coherent, DSP, full integration, integration, interface, line cards, optical engine, power consumption, RF Interconnections, Viasat

Insights

June 28, 2023

Coherent Lite and The Future Inside the Data Center

In the dynamic landscape of data centers, the demand for greater bandwidth and extended reach…

In the dynamic landscape of data centers, the demand for greater bandwidth and extended reach is rapidly increasing. As shown in the figure below, we can think about three categories of data center interconnects based on their reach

Intra-data center interconnects (< 2km)
Campus data center interconnects (<10km)
Metro data center interconnects (<100km)

Asset 6 data center interconnect — Figure 1: Example of different data center interconnect (DCI) links. Intra-data center interconnects usually have lengths up to 2kms, campus interconnects up to 10km, and metro DCIs up to 100km, although there can be longer DCIs.

Coherent optical technology has already established itself as the go-to solution for interconnecting data centers over long distances in metro areas.

However, within the confines of data centers themselves, intensity-modulated direct detect (IM-DD) technology remains dominant. Recognizing the limitations of IM-DD in meeting evolving requirements, the industry is exploring “Coherent Lite” solutions—a simplified implementation of coherent technology designed specifically for shorter-reach data center connections.

This article delves into the concept of coherent lite technology and its potential to address the escalating bandwidth demands within data centers.

Reducing Dispersion Compensation

The quality of the light signal degrades when traveling through an optical fiber by a process called dispersion. The same phenomenon happens when a prism splits white light into several colors. The fiber also adds other distortions due to nonlinear optical effects. These effects get worse as the input power of the light signal increases, leading to a trade-off. You might want more power to transmit over longer distances, but the nonlinear distortions also become larger, which beats the point of using more power. The DSP performs several operations on the light signal that try to offset these dispersion and nonlinear distortions.

Asset 7 dispersion in optical fibers — Figure 2: Explaining dispersion compensation in optical fibers. A pulse of light will spread out and distort due to dispersion effects.

However, shorter-reach connections require less dispersion compensation, presenting an opportunity to streamline the implementation of coherent solutions. Coherent lite implementations can reduce the use of dispersion compensation blocks. This significantly lowers system power consumption.

The Trade-Offs Between Fixed and Tunable Lasers

Coherent lite solutions also aim to replace tunable lasers with fixed lasers to reduce costs. The use of fixed lasers eliminates the need for wavelength tuning and associated control circuitry and algorithms, simplifying the implementation and reducing operational complexities.

While fixed lasers offer significant advantages, tunable lasers will push to remain competitive. As we described in a previous article, advances in tunable laser technology aim to further reduce package footprints and leverage electronic ecosystems to reduce cost. Such developments will allow tunable lasers to keep pace with the demands of coherent lite solutions, ensuring a viable alternative for shorter-reach data center connections.

Scaling Data Center Links

The increasing length and bandwidth of links within data centers is increasingly calling for the use of coherent technology. As bandwidth scales to 1.6 and 3.2 terabits, traditional direct detect technology faces challenges in keeping up with the growing distances. Intra data center links that were previously limited to 2 kilometers are now extending to 5 or even 10 kilometers, demanding more robust and efficient transmission technologies.

In this context, coherent lite technology provides an attractive middle ground for enabling extended-reach connections within data centers. By leveraging some aspects of coherent solutions, coherent lite technologies facilitate the reliable and efficient transport of data over longer distances.

Takeaways

As data centers evolve to accommodate escalating bandwidth demands, coherent lite technology emerges as a promising solution for communication links within these facilities. By reducing dispersion compensation, simplifying their laser setups, and enabling extended-reach transmission, coherent lite solutions address the limitations of traditional direct detect technology. These advancements pave the way for enhanced performance, and seamless scalability within data center environments.

Tags: 1.6T, 3.2T, bandwidth, coherent, Coherent Lite, Coherent Transmissions, Complexity, CWDM, Data center, datacom, dispersion compensation, Fixed Lasers, IM-DD (Intensity-Modulated Direct Detect), Interconnects, Intra DC, optical technology, power, reach, Scaling Data Center Links, Simplification, Single Wavelength

Insights

June 21, 2023

Coherent Satellite Networks

The current state of the space industry is characterized by rapid growth, technological advancements, and…

The current state of the space industry is characterized by rapid growth, technological advancements, and increasing commercialization. Over the past decade, the space industry has undergone a significant transformation driven by both government and private sector initiatives.

One notable trend is the rise of commercial space companies. Companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have made major strides in developing reusable rocket technology, drastically reducing the cost of accessing space. The miniaturization of satellites has also led to an increase in the number of satellites launched. This progress has boosted space applications such as Earth observation, global internet connectivity, and remote sensing.

Cost-space-flight — Figure 1: The cost of a kilogram of payload into space since 2000. Source: Visual Capitalist (data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies)

On the technical side, the main issues in satellite communications include signal latency, limited bandwidth, and vulnerability to weather conditions. Signal latency refers to the delay in transmitting signals over long distances, which can impact real-time applications. Limited bandwidth can result in slower data transfer rates and congestion. Weather conditions like heavy rainfall or storms can cause signal degradation or interruptions.

This article will discuss how satellite networks and coherent optical communications can help address some of these issues.

A New Age of LEO Satellite Constellations

The most important distinction between each satellite type is its orbital altitude or distance from Earth’s surface as it rotates the planet. There are three main categories:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Altitude 500 to 1,200km. LEO is densely populated with thousands of satellites in operation today, primarily addressing science, imaging, and low-bandwidth telecommunications needs.
Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). Altitude 5,000 to 20,000km. MEO has historically been used for GPS and other navigation applications.
Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). Altitude > 36,000 km. GEO satellites match the rotation of the Earth as they travel, and so remain above the same point on the ground. Hundreds of GEO satellites are in orbit today, traditionally delivering services such as weather data, broadcast TV, and some low-speed data communication.

Asset 6 GEO MEO LEO — Figure 2: Schematic of orbital altitudes and coverage areas

The telecom industry is particularly interested in using LEO satellites to provide enhanced connectivity. Compared to GEO satellites, they can provide higher speeds and significantly lower latencies. As the cost of launching LEO satellites has decreased, more can be launched to provide redundancy in case of satellite failures or outages. If a single satellite experiences a problem, such as a malfunctioning component or damage from space debris, it can be taken offline and replaced without interrupting the network’s overall operation.

Asset 8 Satilite-speed-latency-coverage — Figure 3: Comparison between LEO and GEO satellites for connectivity. Source: BCG Analysis

Many companies are developing massive LEO constellations with hundreds or thousands of satellites to provide low latency and global coverage: SpaceX´s Starlink, Telesat’s Lightspeed, Amazon’s Kuiper, or OneWeb. These LEO satellite constellations can provide true universal coverage compared to terrestrial methods of communication. LEO satellites can connect people to high-speed internet where traditional ground infrastructure is hard to reach, making them an attractive solution to close the connectivity gaps across the world.

Coherent Technology is Vital for Future Satellite Links

Currently, most space missions use radio frequency communications to send data to and from spacecraft. While radio waves have a proven track record of success in space missions, generating and collecting more mission data requires enhanced communications capabilities.

Coherent optical communications can increase link capacities to spacecraft and satellites by 10 to 100 times that of radio frequency systems. Additionally, optical transceivers can lower the size, weight, and power (SWAP) specifications of satellite communication systems. Less weight and size means a less expensive launch or perhaps room for more scientific instruments. Less power consumption means less drain on the spacecraft’s energy sources.

Compared to traditional optical technology, coherent optical technology offers improved sensitivity and signal to noise ratios. This reduces error rates and the need for retransmission, which would significantly increase latency.

Leveraging Electronics Ecosystems for Space Certification and Standardization

While integrated photonics can boost space communications by lowering the payload, it must overcome the obstacles of a harsh space environment, which include radiation hardness, an extreme operational temperature range, and vacuum conditions. The values in Table 1 show the unmanaged environmental temperatures in different space environments.

*Mission Type*	*Temperature Range*
Pressurized Module	+18.3 ºC to 26.7 °C
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO)	-65 ºC to +125 ºC
Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO)	-196 ºC to +128 °C
Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle	-200 ºC to +260 ºC
Lunar Surface	-171 ºC to +111 ºC
Martian Surface	-143 ºC to +27 ºC

Table 1. Temperature Extremes by Mission Type. Source: NASA

Fortunately, a substantial body of knowledge exists to make integrated photonics compatible with space environments. After all, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) use similar materials to their electronic counterparts, which have already been space qualified in many implementations.

Much research has gone into overcoming the challenges of packaging PICs with electronics and optical fibers for these space environments, which must include hermetic seals and avoid epoxies. Commercial solutions, such as those offered by PHIX Photonics Assembly, Technobis IPS, and the PIXAPP Photonic Packaging Pilot Line, are now available.

Takeaways

The space industry is experiencing rapid growth and commercialization, driven by technological advancements and the emergence of commercial space companies. Using multiple satellites in a constellation can enhance reliability and coverage while reducing signal disruptions.

Coherent optical technology is crucial for satellite communication links as it enables higher data rates and improve sensitivities and signal to noise ratio. The integration of electronics and optics ecosystems is essential for space certification and standardization, ensuring compatibility with the harsh space environment. Overall, addressing these challenges will continue to drive innovation and advancements in satellite communication networks.

Tags: Amazon (Kuiper), Blue Origin, coherent, Coherent Satellite Networks, Coherent technology, communications, compatibility, cost, GEO, Global coverage, latency, LEO, LEO satellite constellations, life span, Limited bandwidth, Low latency, MEO, Networks, OneWeb, Optical communications, P2P, PHIX Photonics Assembly, PIXAPP Photonic Packaging Pilot Line, reliability, satellite, Satellite communication systems, sensitivity, Signal latency, SNR, space, Space certification, SpaceX, Technobis IPS, Telesat, Virgin Galactic

The Light Path to a Coherent Cloud Edge Banner

Insights

May 18, 2023

Data Center Interconnects: Coherent or Direct Detect?

Article first published 15 June 2022, updated 18 May 2023. With the increasing demand for…

Article first published 15 June 2022, updated 18 May 2023.

With the increasing demand for cloud-based applications, datacom providers are expanding their distributed computing networks. Therefore, they and telecom provider partners are looking for data center interconnect (DCI) solutions that are faster and more affordable than before to ensure that connectivity between metro and regional facilities does not become a bottleneck.

As shown in the figure below, we can think about three categories of data center interconnects based on their reach

Intra-data center interconnects (< 2km)
Campus data center interconnects (<10km)
Metro data center interconnects (<100km)

Figure 1: Example of different data center interconnect (DCI) links. Intra-data center interconnects usually have lengths up to 2kms, campus interconnects up to 10km, and metro DCIs up to 100km, although there can be longer DCIs.

Coherent 400ZR now dominates the metro DCI space, but in the coming decade, coherent technology could also play a role in shorter ranges, such as campus and intra-data center interconnects. As interconnects upgrade to Terabit speeds, coherent technology might start coming closer to direct detect power consumption and cost.

Coherent Dominates in Metro DCIs

The advances in electronic and photonic integration allowed coherent technology for metro DCIs to be miniaturized into QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors. This progress allowed the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) to create a 400ZR multi-source agreement. 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. Operations teams found the simplicity of coherent pluggables very attractive. There was no need to install and maintain additional amplifiers and compensators as in direct detection: a single coherent transceiver plugged into a router could fulfill the requirements.

As an example of their success, Cignal AI forecasted that 400ZR shipments would dominate edge applications, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Forecast of 100G port equivalents shipped for edge applications. These shipments are overwhelmingly 400ZR standard technology. Source: Cignal AI Transport Applications Report Q42021. This plot is the most recent update that includes this 100G Equivalent Port data, but more updated Cignal AI reports with similar data can be found here. — Figure 2: Forecast of 100G port equivalents shipped for edge applications. These shipments are overwhelmingly 400ZR standard technology. Source: Cignal AI Transport Applications Report Q42021. This plot is the most recent update that includes this 100G Equivalent Port data, but more updated Cignal AI reports with similar data can be found *here*.

Campus Interconnect Are the Grey Area

The campus DCI segment, featuring distances below 10 kilometers, was squarely in the domain of direct detect products when the standard speed of these links was 100Gbps. No amplifiers nor compensators were needed for these shorter distances, so direct detect transceivers are as simple to deploy and maintain as coherent ones.

However, as link bandwidths increase into the Terabit space, these direct detect links will need more amplifiers to reach 10 kilometers, and their power consumption will approach that of coherent solutions. The industry initially predicted that coherent solutions would be able to match the power consumption of PAM4 direct detect solutions as early as 800G generation. However, PAM4 developers have proven resourceful and have borrowed some aspects of coherent solutions without fully implementing a coherent solution. For example, ahead of OFC 2023, semiconductor solutions provider Marvell announced a 1.6Tbps PAM4 platform that pushes the envelope on the cost and power per bit they could offer in the 10 km range.

Following the coming years and how the PAM-4 industry evolves will be interesting. How many (power-hungry) features of coherent solutions will they have to borrow if they want to keep up in upcoming generations and speeds of 3.2 Tbps and beyond? Lumentum’s Chief Technology Officer, Brandon Collings, has some interesting thoughts on the subject in this interview with Gazettabyte.

Direct Detect Dominates Intra Data Center Interconnects (For Now…)

Below Terabit speeds, direct detect technology (both NRZ and PAM-4) will likely dominate the intra-DCI space (also called data center fabric) in the coming years. In this space, links span less than 2 kilometers, and for particularly short links (< 300 meters), affordable multimode fiber (MMF) is frequently used.

Nevertheless, moving to larger, more centralized data centers (such as hyperscale) is lengthening intra-DCI links. Instead of transferring data directly from one data center building to another, new data centers move data to a central hub. So even if the building you want to connect to might be 200 meters away, the fiber runs to a hub that might be one or two kilometers away. In other words, intra-DCI links are becoming campus DCI links requiring their single-mode fiber solutions.

On top of these changes, the upgrades to Terabit speeds in the coming decade will also see coherent solutions more closely challenge the power consumption of direct detect transceivers. PAM-4 direct detect transceivers that fulfill the speed requirements require digital signal processors (DSPs) and more complex lasers that will be less efficient and affordable than previous generations of direct detect technology. With coherent technology scaling up in volume and having greater flexibility and performance, one can argue that it will also reach cost-competitiveness in this space.

Takeaways

Unsurprisingly, using coherent or direct detect technology for data center interconnects boils down to reach and capacity needs. 400ZR coherent is already established as the solution for metro DCIs. In campus interconnects of 10 km or less, PAM-4 products remain a robust solution up to 1.6 Tbps, but coherent technology is making a case for its use. Thus, it will be interesting to see how they compete in future generations and 3.2 Tbps.

Coherent solutions are also becoming more competitive as the intra-data center sector moves into higher Terabit speeds, like 3.2Tbps. Overall, the datacom sector is moving towards coherent technology, which is worth considering when upgrading data center links.

Tags: 800G, access networks, coherent, cost, cost-effective, Data center, distributed computing, edge and metro DCIs, integration, Intra DCI, license, metro, miniaturized, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggable, power consumption, power consumption SFP, reach, Terabit

Photonic technology more available to all Industries

Insights

March 15, 2023

Coherent Optics In Space

When it started, the space race was a competition between two superpowers, but now there…

When it started, the space race was a competition between two superpowers, but now there are 90 countries with missions in space.

The prices of space travel have gone down, making it possible for more than just governments to send rockets and satellites into space. Several private companies are now investing in space programs, looking for everything from scientific advances to business opportunities. Some reports estimate more than 10,000 companies in the space industry and around 5,000 investors.

According to The Space Foundation’s 2022 report, the space economy was worth $469 billion in 2021. The report says more spacecraft were launched in the first six months of 2021 than in the first 52 years of space exploration (1957-2009). This growing industry has thus a growing need for technology products across many disciplines, including telecommunications. The space sector will need lighter, more affordable telecommunication systems that also provide increased bandwidth.

This is why EFFECT Photonics sees future opportunities for coherent technology in the space industry. By translating the coherent transmission from fiber communication systems on the ground to free-space optical systems, the space sector can benefit from solutions with more bandwidth capacity and less power consumption than traditional point-to-point microwave links.

It’s all About SWaP

One of the major concerns of the space industry is the cost of sending anything into space. Even during the days of NASA’s Space Shuttle program (which featured a reusable shuttle unit), sending a kilogram into space cost tens of thousands of dollars. Over time, more rocket stages have become reusable due to the efforts of companies like SpaceX, reducing these costs to just a few thousand. The figure below shows how the cost of space flight has decreased significantly in the last two decades.

The cost of a space flight since 2000 — *Figure 1: The cost of a kilogram of payload into space since 2000. Source: Visual Capitalist (data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies)*

Even though space travel is more affordable than ever, size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements are still vital in the space industry. After all, shaving off weight or size in the spacecraft means a less expensive launch or perhaps room for more scientific instruments. Meanwhile, less power consumption means less drain on the spacecraft’s energy sources.

Using Optics and Photonics to Minimize SWaP Requirements

Currently, most space missions use bulkier radio frequency communications to send data to and from spacecraft. While radio waves have a proven track record of success in space missions, generating and collecting more mission data requires enhanced communications capabilities. Besides, radiofrequency equipment can often generate a lot of heat, requiring more energy to cool the system.

Decreasing SWaP requirements can be achieved with more photonics and miniaturization. Transmitting data with light will usually dissipate less than heat than transmission with electrical signals and radio waves. These leads to smaller, lighter communication systems that require less power to run.

These SWaP advantages come alongside the increased transmission speeds. After all, coherent optical communications can increase link capacities to spacecraft and satellites by 10 to 100 times that of radio frequency systems.

Leveraging Electronics Ecosystems for Space Certification and Standardization

*Mission Type*	*Temperature Range*
Pressurized Module	+18.3 ºC to 26.7 °C
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO)	-65 ºC to +125 °C
Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO)	-196 ºC to +128 °C
Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle	-200 ºC to +260 ºC
Lunar Surface	-171 ºC to +111 ºC
Martian Surface	-143 ºC to +27 ºC

Table 1. Temperature Extremes by Mission Type. Source: NASA

The values in Table 1 show the unmanaged environmental temperatures in different space environments. In a temperature-managed area, these would decrease significantly for electronics and optics systems, perhaps by as much as half. Despite this management, the equipment would still need to deal with some extreme temperature values.

Takeaways

Whenever you want to send data from point A to B, photonics is usually the most efficient way of doing it, be it over fiber or free space.

Offering optical communication systems in a small integrated package that can resist the required environmental conditions will significantly benefit the space sector and its need to minimize SWaP requirements. These optical systems can increase their transmission capacity with the coherent optical transmission used in fiber optics. Furthermore, by leveraging the assembly and packaging structure of electronics for the space sector, photonics can also provide the systems with the ruggedness required to live in space.

Tags: certification, coherent, electronics, existing, fast, growing, heat dissipation, miniaturization, Optical Communication, Photonics, power consumption, size, space, space sector, speed, SWAP, temperature, weight

07 March 2023 - 09 March 2023

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

EFFECT Photonics #2423

Discover Where Light Meets Digital at OFC2023

Join us from March 7 to 9, 2023 at OFC in San Diego, California, the world’s largest event for optical networking and communications.

Press Releases

March 3, 2023

EFFECT Photonics Secures $40 Million in Additional Funding

Eindhoven, The Netherlands EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions, has secured…

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions, has secured an additional $40 million in funding from a group of investors led by Invest-NL and Innovation Industries, along with other existing investors.

The new investment enables the company to accelerate product development and fuel go-to-market initiatives, specifically those related to its integrated coherent optical product portfolio and solutions that meet the industry need for disaggregation of the key components for the growing needs of coherent optical interfaces.

We’re thankful to Invest-NL, Innovation Industries, and our other existing investors for their continued support and confidence in EFFECT Photonics mission and products. This investment positions us well to advance our portfolio of integrated optic solutions that will reshape the future of communications and positively disrupt the status quo.
Roberto Marcoccia, CEO, EFFECT Photonics

Invest-NL’s Deep Tech Fund is established to support companies with innovative, complex technologies focusing on future societal challenges. Our investment in EFFECT Photonics is within that goal. We are very happy to support our existing deep tech portfolio company EFFECT Photonics, together with the other shareholders, for further growth. Management is well-focused on future developments and has positioned EFFECT Photonics as a tier-one business partner.
Gert-Jan Vaessen, Fund Manager Deep Tech Fund at Invest-NL

Innovation Industries is excited to offer our continued support of EFFECT Photonics. We are impressed by the company’s plans for future growth and innovative product portfolio, which is forging new grounds in offering the lowest power per bit.
Nard Sintenie, Partner, Innovation Industries

About EFFECT PHOTONICS

Where Light Meets Digital – EFFECT Photonics is a highly vertically integrated, independent optical systems company addressing the need for high-performance, affordable optic solutions driven by the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth and faster data transfer capabilities. Using our field-proven digital signal processing and forward error correction technologies and ultra-pure light sources, we offer compact form factor solutions with seamless integration, cost efficiency, low power, and security of supply. By leveraging established microelectronics ecosystems, we aim to make our products affordable and available in high volumes to address the challenges in 5G and beyond, access-ready coherent solutions, and cloud and cloud edge services. For more information, please visit: www.effectphotonics.com. Follow EFFECT Photonics on LinkedIn and Twitter.

# # #

Media Contact:

Colleen Cronin
EFFECT Photonics
colleencronin@effectphotonics.com

Tags: 40, 40 million, 5G, coherent, Deep Tech, EFFECT Photonics, Funding, Integrated Photonics, invest nl, Photonics, PIC, Transceivers

Press Releases

February 22, 2023

EFFECT Photonics Unveils Development of Pico Tunable Laser Assembly Enabling QSFP28 100G ZR Coherent Pluggable Modules

-New pTLA to offer industry-best combination of size, affordability, and performance to meet the demand…

-New pTLA to offer industry-best combination of size, affordability, and performance to meet the demand for 100G coherent at the edge

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands

EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions, announced today the development of a new Pico Tunable Laser Assembly (pTLA) to address the growing demand for 100G coherent transceivers in access networks. Tunable lasers are a core component of optical systems enabling dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) which allows network operators to expand their network capacity without expanding the existing fiber infrastructure. Purposely designed for the optical network edge, EFFECT Photonics new pTLA supports both commercial- and industrial-temperature (C-temp and I-temp) operating ranges and offers an ideal combination of power, cost, and size to enable a transceiver form-factors to upgrade the existing infrastructure to a scalable 100 Gbps coherent solution.

According to a recent Heavy Reading survey, 75% of operators believe that 100G coherent pluggable optics will be used extensively in their edge and access evolution strategy. However, market adoption has yet to materialize since affordable and power-efficient 100ZR-based products are currently not available due to stringent size and power consumption requirements that cannot be fulfilled by today’s tunable laser solutions. Designed specifically to address the 100G coherent network edge, EFFECT Photonics’ pTLA will allow coherent pluggables to be deployed more easily and cost effectively in the access domain and will feature optimal laser performance, size and power consumption for a standard QSFP28 form-factor. Furthermore, EFFECT Photonics’ new pTLA utilizes the existing microelectronics ecosystem to allow manufacturing at scale as well as complementary coherent products and services, such as DSPs for those providers in need of a complete transceiver solution.

Today’s operators need an network edge aggregation strategy that offers the best combination of capacity, cost-effectiveness, and performance to evolve network access effectively, and 100G coherent pluggable optics offer just that, EFFECT Photonics’ new Pico Tunable Laser Assembly will be the only purpose designed tunable laser assembly today to serve this emerging market. helping to easily scale up network edge aggregation capacity and benefit from coherent technology.
Roberto Marcoccia, CEO, EFFECT Photonics

About EFFECT PHOTONICS

Using our proprietary digital signal processing and forward error correction technology and ultra-pure light sources, we offer compact form factors with seamless integration, cost efficiency, low power, and security of supply. By leveraging established microelectronics ecosystems, we aim to make our products affordable and available in high volumes to address the challenges in 5G and beyond, access-ready coherent solutions, and cloud and cloud edge services.

For more information, please visit: www.effectphotonics.com. Follow EFFECT Photonics on LinkedIn and Twitter.

To read the Simplified Chinese version click here.

To read the Traditional Chinese version click here.

To read the Japanese version click here.

To read the Korean version click here.

# # #

Media Contact:

Colleen Cronin
EFFECT Photonics
colleencronin@effectphotonics.com

Tags: 5G, coherent, DSP, EFFECT Photonics, Integrated Photonics, laser, Photonics, PIC, pTLA, Transceivers

Telecom/Datacom

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Telecom/Datacom

Emerging Industries

DSP & FEC

Ultra Pure Light Sources

Ecosystems

Pluggable Modules – Direct Detect

Pluggable Modules – Coherent

Sub-Assemblies

ASICs

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Telecom/Datacom

Emerging Industries

DSP & FEC

Ultra Pure Light Sources

Ecosystems

Pluggable Modules – Direct Detect

Pluggable Modules – Coherent

Sub-Assemblies

ASICs

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coherent

Explore Our ECOC2023 Demos:

How Coherent 100ZR Can Move into Mobile X-haul

Coherent 100ZR Uplinks Driven by Cable Migration to 10G PON

Advancements in Business Services with 100ZR Coherent and QSFP28

Takeaways

Direct Detect or Coherent for 800G and Beyond?

Increased Integration and Co-Design are Key to Reduce Power Consumption

Reducing Complexity with Multi-Laser Arrays

Takeaways

Reducing Dispersion Compensation

The Trade-Offs Between Fixed and Tunable Lasers

Scaling Data Center Links

Takeaways

A New Age of LEO Satellite Constellations

Coherent Technology is Vital for Future Satellite Links

Leveraging Electronics Ecosystems for Space Certification and Standardization

Takeaways

Coherent Dominates in Metro DCIs

Campus Interconnect Are the Grey Area

Direct Detect Dominates Intra Data Center Interconnects (For Now…)

Takeaways

It’s all About SWaP

Using Optics and Photonics to Minimize SWaP Requirements

Leveraging Electronics Ecosystems for Space Certification and Standardization

Takeaways

Explore Our OFC2023 Demos:

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

About EFFECT PHOTONICS

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands

About EFFECT PHOTONICS

Telecom/Datacom

Emerging Industries

DSP & FEC

Ultra Pure Light Sources

Ecosystems

Pluggable Modules – Direct Detect

Pluggable Modules – Coherent

Sub-Assemblies

ASICs

View All

Insights

Press Releases

In the News

Events

Careers

Knowledge Center

Company Info

Contact Us