20 March 2017

Oclaro samples 400G CFP8 PAM4-enabled transceiver; showcases live demo at OFC

Oclaro Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which provides components, modules and subsystems for optical communications) is sampling its 400G CFP8 transceiver for core routers/transport applications.

Delivering four times more bandwidth than existing 100G CFPx solutions in a small and compact footprint, the CFP8 leverages Oclaro’s electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) and receiver technology to deliver higher data rates between high-end routers and optical transport systems. The firm is showcasing a live demo of the CFP8 operating with eight lasers at 50G PAM4 in booth #2747 at the Optical Fiber Comminications trade show (OFC 2017) in Los Angeles (21-23 March).

“By leveraging our PAM4-compatible laser technology with our wide-receiver bandwidth capability, we’ve been able to quadruple bandwidth in the CFP8, while still maintaining the same size as a 100G CFP2 solution,” says Yves LeMaitre, president of Oclaro’s Optical Connectivity business unit. “This is a significant achievement that will trigger the widespread deployment of high-bandwidth 400G optical interfaces based on PAM4 that can address the bandwidth constraints faced by data centers globally today,” he adds.

Featuring a small 40mm x 102mm x 9.5mm form factor, the 400G CFP8 transceiver provides a dense-port and high-throughput solution. The CFP8 leverages Oclaro’s proven technology from its earlier CFP, CFP2 and CFP4 designs, including cooled 1310nm 28Gbps electro-absorption distributed feedback (EA-DFB) laser technology, an integrated transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) and receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA), and a 28Gbps 4-channel integrated PIN-photodiode array. Additional features include the following:

• compliant with 400GBASE-LR8 optical and 400GAUI-16 electrical interface specifications that are under final standardization by the IEEE 802.3bs task force;
• electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) technology allowing good margin over IEEE 400GbE optical specifications;
• higher receiver bandwidth capability to interface with different lasers;
• support for the newly released CFP8 Hardware Specification by the CFP MSA Group for reach up to 2km and 10km;
• better overall system performance, assurance of data transmission and interoperability; and
• vertically integrated EML and PIN technologies that ensure product reliability.

The CFP8 is sampling now, with volume production expected in second-half 2017.

Tags: Oclaro

Visit: www.ofcconference.org/

Visit: www.oclaro.com