- News
26 September 2018
Source Photonics partners with Huawei in showcasing PAM4-based optical transceivers
© Semiconductor Today Magazine / Juno PublishiPicture: Disco’s DAL7440 KABRA laser saw.
Source Photonics Inc of West Hills, CA, USA (which provides optical connectivity products for data centers, metro and access networks) has partnered with telecom equipment maker Huawei in showcasing 50G and 400G optical transceivers based on PAM4 (4-level pulse amplitude modulation) technology by joining the Ethernet Alliance interoperability demonstration at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2018) in Rome, Italy (24-26 September) consisting of multiple 400G and 50G links among participating network and test equipment manufacturers.
Demand for bandwidth is rising continuously as new technologies such as AI, virtual reality, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G drive the need for faster transmission speeds in the network, says Source Photonics. Moreover, the rapid growth of network traffic increases the challenges brought by heat dissipation and power supply in the equipment rooms. This leads to more expensive construction costs, making network migration and expansion impractical.
Source Photonics is working with Huawei to provide operators an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technology. The firms took the initiative this year in driving the development of optical modules based on 50G PAM4 technology. Coupled with faster Baud Rates and higher-density transceiver types, PAM4 is enabling 400G, which is key to migrating to higher-speed networks.
“We successfully demonstrated interoperability of the first 400G QSFP-DD LR8 and 400G CFP8 LR8 transceivers at OFC 2018 in March,” says product line manager Andy Xiao. “Source Photonics continues to take initiative as it collaborates with Huawei in developing IEEE optical standards for 50G PAM4 technology.”
Source Photonics’ 400G CFP8 supports the IEEE 400GBASE-LR8 optical standard and 400GAUI-16 electrical interface. The module operates from 0°C to 70°C and complies with the CFP8 MSA and allows connections of up to 10km. The 50G LR QSFP28 uses a directly modulated laser (DML) with mature TO package as a cost-effective solution for network migration. This product will be available for purchase in September and will also be key in enabling 5G commercialization and other services requiring higher network bandwidth.