pluggable Archives - EFFECT Photonics

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July 3, 2024

Integrating Line Card Performance and Functions Into a Pluggable

Article first published 12th October 2021, updated 3rd July 2024. The optical transceiver market is…

Article first published 12^th October 2021, updated 3^rd July 2024.

The optical transceiver market is expected to double in size by 2025, and coherent optical technology has come a long way over the past decade to become more accessible and thus have a greater impact on this market. When Nortel (later Ciena) introduced the first commercial coherent transponder in 2008, the device was a bulky, expensive line card with discrete components distributed on multiple circuit boards.

As time went by, coherent devices got smaller and consumed less power. By 2018, most coherent line card transponder functions could be miniaturized into CFP2 transceiver modules that were the size of a pack of cards and could plug into modules with pluggable line sides. QSFP modules followed a couple of years later, and they were essentially the size of a large USB stick and could be plugged directly into routers. They were a great fit for network operators who wanted to take advantage of the lower power consumption and cost, field replaceability, vendor interoperability, and pay-as-you-grow features.

Figure-Module-Power — Figure 1: Coherent module size and power consumption evolution from OIF MSA line card modules to pluggable modules like CFP and QSFP.

Despite the onset of pluggables, the big, proprietary line card optical engines have still played a role in the market by focusing on delivering best-in-class optical performance. The low-noise, high-power signals they produce have the longest reach for optical links and have wider compatibility with the ROADM multiplexers used in metro and long-haul networks. The smaller CFP2 modules produce, at best, roughly half the laser power of the line card modules, which limits their reach. Meanwhile, even smaller QSFP form factors can not fit optical amplifier components, so their transmit power and reach are much more limited than even a CFP2 module.

All in all, the trade-offs were clear: go for proprietary line card transponders if you want best-in-class performance and longest reach, and go for CFP2 or QSFP transceivers if you want a smaller footprint and power consumption. This trade-off, however, limits the more widespread adoption of coherent technology. For example, mobile network operators need high performance, a smaller footprint, and power consumption so that their metro and access networks can meet the rising demands for 5G data.

So what if we told you the current paradigm of line card transponders versus pluggable transceivers is outdated? Recent improvements in electronic and photonic integration have squeezed more performance and functions into smaller form factors, allowing pluggable devices to almost catch up to line cards.

Integration Enables Line Card Performance in a Pluggable Form Factor

Figure 2: Comparing transmit power, noise, size, and cost of line card transponders and different transceiver pluggable modules. Fully integrated QSFP-DD modules include lasers, amplifiers, and filters inside a single PIC, so they can deliver high transmit powers at small size and low cost.

The advances in photonic integration change the game and can enable high performance and transmit power in the smallest pluggable transceiver form factors. By integrating all photonic functions on a single chip, including lasers and optical amplifiers, pluggable transceiver modules can achieve transmit power levels closer to those of line card transponder modules while still keeping the smaller QSFP router pluggable form factor, power consumption, and cost.

Full photonic integration increases the transmit power further by minimizing the optical losses due to the use of more efficient optical modulators, fewer coupling losses compared to silicon, and the integration of the laser device on the same chip as the rest of the optical components.

Modern ASICs Can Fit Electronics Functions in a Pluggable Form Factor

As important as optical performance is, though, pluggable transceivers also needed improvements on the electronic side. Traditionally, line card systems not only had better optical performance but also broader and more advanced electronic functionalities, such as digital signal processing (DSP), advanced forward error correction (FEC), encryption, and advanced modulation schemes. These features are usually implemented on electronic application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

ASICs benefit from the same CMOS process improvements that drive progress in consumer electronics. Each new CMOS process generation can fit more transistors into a single chip. Ten years ago, an ASIC for line cards had tens of millions of transistors, while the 7nm ASIC technology used in modern pluggables has more than five billion transistors. This progress in transistor density allows ASICs to integrate more electronic functions than ever into a single chip while still making the chip smaller. Previously, every function—signal processing, analog/digital conversion, error correction, multiplexing, encryption—required a separate ASIC, but now they can all be consolidated on a single chip that fits in a pluggable transceiver.

Figure : Evolution of coherent transceiver generations in terms of power consumption and transistor density of ASICs. — Figure 3: Evolution of coherent transceiver generations in terms of power consumption and transistor density of ASICs.

This increase in transistor density and integration also leads to massive gains in power consumption and performance. For example, modern transceivers using 7nm ASICs have decreased their consumption by 50% compared to the previous generation using 16nm ASICs while delivering roughly a 30% increase in bandwidth and baud rates. By 2022, ASICs in pluggables will benefit from a newer 5nm CMOS process, enabling further improvements in transistor density, power consumption, and speed.

Electronic Integration Enables Line-Card System Management in a Pluggable Form Factor

The advancements in CMOS technology also enable the integration of system-level functions into a pluggable transceiver. Previously, functions such as in-band network management and security, remote management, autotuneability, or topology awareness had to live on the shelf controller or in the line card interface, but that’s not the case anymore. Thanks to the advances in electronic integration, we are closer than ever to achieving a full, open transponder on a pluggable that operates as part of the optical network. These programmable, pluggable transceivers provide more flexibility than ever to manage access networks.

For example, the pluggable transceiver could run in a mode that prioritizes high-performance or one that prioritizes low consumption by using simpler and less power-hungry signal processing and error correction features. Therefore, these pluggables could provide high-end performance in the smallest form-factor or low and mid-range performance at lower power consumption than embedded line card transponders.

EFFECT Photonics has already started implementing these system-management features in its products. For example, our direct-detect SFP+ transceiver modules feature NarroWave technology, which allows customers to monitor and control remote SFP+ modules from the central office without making any hardware or software changes in the field. NarroWave is agnostic of vendor equipment, data rate, or protocol of the in-band traffic.

Pluggable transceivers also provide the flexibility of multi-vendor interoperability. High-performance line card transponders have often prioritized using proprietary features to increase performance while neglecting interoperability. The new generations of pluggables don’t need to make this trade-off: they can operate in standards-compatible modes for interoperability or in high-performance modes that use proprietary features.

Takeaways

Coherent technology was originally reserved for premium long-distance links where performance is everything. Edge and access networks could not use this higher-performance technology since it was too bulky and expensive.

Photonic integration technology like the one used by EFFECT Photonics helps bring these big, proprietary, and expensive line card systems into a router pluggable form factor. This tech has squeezed more performance into a smaller area and at lower power consumption, making the device more cost-effective. Combining the improvements in photonic integration with the advances in electronic integration for ASICs, the goal of having a fully programmable transponder in a pluggable is practically a reality. Photonic integration will be a disruptive technology that will simplify network design and operation and reduce network operators’ capital and operating expenses.

The impact of this technological improvement in pluggable transceivers was summarized deftly by Keven Wollenweber, VP of Product Management for Cisco’s Routing Portfolio:

“Technology advancements have reached a point where coherent pluggables match the QSFP-DD form factor of grey optics, enabling a change in the way our customers build networks. 100G edge and access optimized coherent pluggables will not only provide operational simplicity, but also scalability, making access networks more future proof.”

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Tags: 100G, access network, ASIC, CFP, coherent optics, CoherentPIC, DSP, edge network, electronic integration, fully integrated, Fully Integrated PICs, Integrated Photonics, line card, metro access, miniaturization, NarroWave, optical transceivers, photonic integration, PIC, pluggable, pluggable transceiver, QSFP, SFP, small form factor, sustainability telecommunication

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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

Insights

January 18, 2023

Reaching a 100ZR Future for Access Network Transport

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.

Making Tunable Lasers Even Smaller?

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 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 had once again cut the micro-ITLA footprint almost in half.

Figure-Evolution-laser — Figure 1: Evolution of tunable laser form factors for coherent optics (2011-2021). Figure inspired from a picture in Laser Focus World.

There are still plenty of discussions over the future of ITLA packaging to fit the QSFP28 form factors of these new 100ZR transceivers. For example, every tunable laser needs a wavelength locker component that stabilizes the laser’s output regardless of environmental conditions such as temperature. Integrating that wavelength locker component with the laser chip would help reduce the laser package’s footprint.

Another potential future to reduce the size of tunable laser packages is related to the control electronics. The current ITLA standards include the complete control electronics on the laser package, including power conversion and temperature control. However, if the transceiver’s main board handles some of these electronic functions instead of the laser package, the size of the laser package can be reduced.

This approach means that the reduced laser package would only have full functionality if connected to the main transceiver board. However, some transceiver developers will appreciate the laser package reduction and the extra freedom to provide their own laser control electronics.

Co-designing DSPs for Energy Efficiency

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.

Figure-dac grey blocks — Figure : Simplified diagram of the building blocks of a coherent transceiver in which the DSP drives the optical engine directly from its digital-to-analog converter (DAC). This setup can minimize the power conversion overhead of optical transceivers.

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.

Graph-DSP-power — Figure 3: 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.

Optical Subassemblies That Leverage Electronic Ecosystems

To become more accessible and affordable, the photonics manufacturing chain can learn from electronics packaging, assembly, and testing methods that are already well-known and standardized. After all, building a special production line is much more expensive than modifying an existing production flow.

There are several ways in which photonics packaging, assembly, and testing can be made more affordable and accessible: passive alignments of the optical fiber, BGA-style packaging, and flip-chip bonding. Making these techniques more widespread will make a massive difference in photonics’ ability to scale up and become as available as electronics. To read more about them, please read our previous article.

Takeaways

The interest in novel 100ZR coherent pluggable optics for edge and access applications is strong, but the market has struggled to provide “native” and specific 100ZR solutions to address this interest. Transceiver developers need to embrace several new technological approaches to develop these solutions. They will need smaller tunable laser packages that can fit the QSFP28 form factors of 100ZR solutions, optimized and co-designed DSPs that meet the reduced power consumption goals, and sub-assemblies that leverage electronic ecosystems for increased scale and reduced cost.

Tags: 100 ZR, 100G, 100ZR, 400ZR, C-band, C-PON, coherent, DSP, filters, future proof, Korea, laser sources, O-band, Packaging, pluggable, roadmap, S-band

Press Releases

July 6, 2022

EFFECT Photonics to Deliver Rural 5G Fixed Wireless Access in Wales

As part of the Welsh Government’s efforts to ensure all residents have access to fast…

Press Releases

June 16, 2022

VodafoneZiggo Partners with EFFECT Photonics for 5G Connectivity on Existing Dutch DWDM Networks

Tunable SFP+ modules powered by photonics System-on-Chip (SoC) technology successfully tested on live Dutch network…

Coherent technology can give free-space optical systems greater reach and capacity, enabling these new applications in space and terrestrial links.

Insights

June 2, 2022

Free Space Optics for Access Networks

Optical signals are moving deeper and deeper into access networks. Achieving the ambitious performance goals…

Optical signals are moving deeper and deeper into access networks. Achieving the ambitious performance goals of 5G architectures requires more optics than ever between small cell sites. As stated in a recent report by Deloitte, “extending fiber optics deeper into remote communities is a critical economic driver, promoting competition, increasing connectivity for the rural and underserved, and supporting densification for wireless.”

However, there are cases in which fiber is not cost-effective to deploy. For example, a network carrier might need to quickly increase their access network capacity for a big festival, and there is no point in deploying extra fiber. In many remote areas, the customer base is so small that the costly deployment of fiber will not produce a return on investment. These situations must be addressed with some kind of wireless access solution. Carriers have used fixed microwave links for the longest time to handle these situations.

However, radio microwave frequencies might not be enough as the world demands greater internet speeds and simply changing over to higher carrier frequencies will limit the reach of microwave links. On top of that, the radio spectrum is quite crowded, and a carrier might not have the available licensed spectrum to deploy this wireless link. Besides, microwave point-to-point links produce plenty of heat while struggling to deliver capacity beyond a few Gbps. This is where free-space optics (FSO) comes into play.

FSO is a relatively straightforward technology to explain. A high-power laser source converts data into laser pulses and sends them through a lens system and into the atmosphere. The laser travels to the other side of the link and goes through a receiver lens system and a high-sensitivity photodetector converts those laser pulses back into electronic data that can be processed. In other words, instead of using an optical fiber as a medium to transmit the laser pulses, FSO uses air as a medium. The laser typically operates at an infrared wavelength of 1550nm that is safer on the eye.

Figure 1: Free space optical system diagram

FSO has often been talked about as some futuristic technology to be used in space applications, but it can be used more than that, including ground-to-ground links in access networks.FSO can deliver a wireless access solution that can be deployed quickly and with more bandwidth capacity, security features, and less power consumption than traditional point-to-point microwave links. Furthermore, since it does not use the RF spectrum, there is no need to secure spectrum licenses.

Overcoming the challenges of alignment, and atmospheric turbulence

FSO struggled to break through into practical applications despite these benefits because of certain technical challenges. Communications infrastructure, therefore, focused on more stable transmission alternatives such as optical fiber and RF signals. However, research and innovation over the last few decades are removing these technical barriers. One obstacle to achieving longer distances with FSO had to do with the quality of the laser signal.

Over time, FSO developers have found a solution to this issue in adaptive optics systems. These systems compensate for distortions in the beam by using an active optical element—such as a deformable mirror or liquid crystal—that dynamically changes its structure depending on the shape of the laser beam. Dutch startup Aircision uses this kind of technology in its FSO systems to increase their tolerance to atmospheric disruptions.

Figure 2: How an adaptive optical system works.

Another drawback of FSO is aligning the transmitter and receiver units. Laser beams are extremely narrow, and if the beam doesn’t hit the receiver lens at just the right angle, the information may be lost. The system requires almost perfect alignment, and it must maintain this alignment even when there are small changes in the beam trajectory due to wind or atmospheric disturbances.

FSO systems can handle these alignment issues with fast steering mirror (FSM) technology. These mirrors are driven with electrical signals and are fast, compact, and accurate enough to compensate the disturbances in the beam trajectory. However, even if the system can maintain the beam trajectory and shape, atmospheric turbulence can still degrade the message and cause interference in the data. Fortunately, FSO developers also use sophisticated digital signal processing techniques (DSP) to compensate for these impairments.

These DSP techniques allow for reliable, high-capacity, quick deployments even through thick clouds and fog. FSO links can now handle Gbps capacity over several kilometers thanks to all these technological advances. For example, a collaboration between Aircision and TNO demonstrated in 2021 that their FSO systems could reliably transmit 10 Gbps over 2.5 km. Aircision’s Scientific Director John Reid explained, “it’s an important milestone to show we can outperform microwave E-band antennas and provide a realistic solution for the upcoming 5G system.”

An alternative for safe, private networks

An understated benefit of FSO is that, from a physics perspective, they are arguably the most secure form of wireless communication available today. Point-to-point microwave links transmit a far more directional beam than mobile antennas or WiFi systems, which reduces the potential for security breaches. However, even these narrower microwave beams are still spread out enough to cover a wide footprint vulnerable to eavesdropping and jamming.

At a 1km distance, the beam can spread out enough to cover roughly the length of a building, and at 5km, it could cover an entire city block. Furthermore, microwave systems have side- and back lobes radiating away from the intended direction of transmission that can be intercepted too. Finally, if an attacker is close enough to the source, even the reflected energy from buildings can be used to intercept the signal.

Figure 3: Geometry of an FSO system vs. a microwave link. The microwave link has a much wider spread than FSO, which makes eavesdropping and jamming easier.

Laser beams in FSO are so narrow and focused that they do not have to deal with these issues. At 1km, a typical laser beam only spreads out about 2 meters, and at 5km, only about 5 meters. There are no side and back lobes to worry about and no near-zone reflections. The beam is so narrow that intercepting the transmission becomes an enormous challenge. An intruder would have to get within inches of a terminal or the line of sight, making it easier to get discovered. To complicate things further, the intruder’s terminal would also need to be very well aligned to pick up enough of a signal.

Using Highly-Integrated Transceivers in Free Space Optics

Even though fiber optical communications drove the push for smaller and more efficient optical transceivers, this progress also has a beneficial impact on FSO. As we have explained in previous articles, optical transmission systems have been miniaturized from big, expensive line cards to small, affordable pluggables the size of a large USB stick. These compact transceivers with highly integrated optics and electronics have shorter interconnections, fewer losses, and more elements per chip area. These features all led to a reduced power consumption over the last decade. At EFFECT Photonics, we achieve even further efficiency gains by an optical System-On-Chip (SoC) that integrates all photonic functions on a single chip, including lasers and amplifiers.

Figure 4: Diagram of an FSO system connected to an EFFECT Photonics 10G SFP+ pluggable transceiver via optical fiber.

FSO systems can now take advantage of affordable, low-power transceivers to transmit and receive laser signals in the air. For example, a transceiver based on an optical SoC can output a higher power into the FSO system. By using this higher laser power, the FSO does not need to amplify the signal so much before transmitting it, improving its noise profile. Furthermore, this benefit happens with both direct detect and coherent transceivers. This is a key reason why Aircision has partnered up with EFFECT Photonics to create both direct detect and coherent free-space optical systems, since the startup ultimately aims to reach transmission speeds of 100 Gbps over the air.

Takeaways

FSO has moved from the domain of science fiction to a practical technology that now deserves a place in access networks. FSO can deliver a wireless access solution that can be deployed quickly and with more bandwidth capacity, security features, and less power consumption than traditional point-to-point microwave links. Furthermore, since it does not use the RF spectrum, it is unnecessary to secure spectrum licenses. Affordable direct detect and coherent transceivers based on SoC can further improve the quality and affordability of FSO transmission.

Tags: access networks, adaptive optics, affordable, capacity, coherent, cost-effective, deployments, free space optics, integration, license, miniaturized, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggable, power consumption, private network links, quick deployments, radio spectrum, remote communities, security, SFP, signal processing, turbulence

Press Releases

March 2, 2022

Aircision and EFFECT Photonics to jointly develop coherent technology for free space optics

Aircision builds high capacity free space optics (FSO) systems that can be deployed fast, cover…

Aircision builds high capacity free space optics (FSO) systems that can be deployed fast, cover long distances and are highly secure. In December 2021, Aircision successfully demonstrated the capabilities of their first 10 Gbps FSO system. EFFECT Photonics is a leading transceiver vendor and able to deliver the flexible, pluggable optical transceiver that is a key component of Aircision FSO system . Together, Aircision and EFFECT Photonics are looking to push the boundaries of ground-to-ground FSO technology by combining the advantages of integrated and free space photonics.

“We were impressed with the capabilities of the EFFECT Photonics 10G SFP+ devices that we tested. It was an easy decision to involve them in our development plans for our next generation 100 Gbps coherent transmission systems” said Luis Oliveira (CEO and co-founder at Aircision). New technologies emerge every day and our digital society will keep evolving. To keep up with the ever-growing demand for bandwidth across larger distances, Aircision is developing a 100 Gbps coherent free space optics system capable of transmitting up to 10km.

Joost Verberk, Director of Product Management at EFFECT Photonics, “As we look to applications outside of pure fiber-based communications, we liked the market use cases Aircision presented as well as the market traction they already have. Our roadmaps follow a similar course making a joint development program an interesting option for EFFECT Photonics.”

Both Aircision and EFFECT Photonics are part of the PhotonDelta eco-system, a platform which is in place to accelerate developments such as this and reduce the time-to-market of new applications.

About EFFECT Photonics

EFFECT Photonics delivers highly integrated optical communications products based on its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical System-on-Chip technology. The key enabling technology for DWDM systems is full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip and being able to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. With this capability, EFFECT Photonics is addressing the need for affordable DWDM solutions driven by the soaring demand for high bandwidth connections. EFFECT Photonics is headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with additional facilities in the UK, the US and Taiwan, and a worldwide network of sales partners.

www.effectphotonics.com

About Aircision

Aircision is a deep-tech startup located on the HighTech Campus Eindhoven focused on developing high performing FSO systems for Ground-to-Ground applications. Aircision was founded in early 2019 with support from the Eindhoven Startup Alliance and HighTechXL. For more information, see the Aircision website here.  

Aircision.com

Tags: Aircision, eco-system, free space optics, FSO, Integrated Photonics, PhotonDelta, pluggable, Transceivers

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pluggable

Integration Enables Line Card Performance in a Pluggable Form Factor

Modern ASICs Can Fit Electronics Functions in a Pluggable Form Factor

Electronic Integration Enables Line-Card System Management in a Pluggable Form Factor

Takeaways

Coherent Dominates in Metro DCIs

Campus Interconnect Are the Grey Area

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

Takeaways

Making Tunable Lasers Even Smaller?

Co-designing DSPs for Energy Efficiency

Optical Subassemblies That Leverage Electronic Ecosystems

Takeaways

EFFECT Photonics SFP+ Modules and NarroWave Technology

Eindhoven, The Netherlands

About EFFECT Photonics

About VodafoneZiggo

Overcoming the challenges of alignment, and atmospheric turbulence

An alternative for safe, private networks

Using Highly-Integrated Transceivers in Free Space Optics

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