Network traffic growth has been increasing exponentially over recent decades. This trend affects all segments of network infrastructure, including metro, 5G access and intra-data center networks. The growth has been driven by newly emerging digital applications including the Internet of Things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, connected homes and cars.

Also, services such as streaming Ultra High Definition (UHD) videos need higher data throughput with the image quality increase. Meeting all technical requirements for playing UHD videos smoothly or being online anywhere when doing a sport or travelling in a car requires higher data rate optical modules. The evolution of multiple technologies has enabled transmission speed of 400G and beyond in long haul and metro networks.

Today’s trend of migration to 400G speeds stems from cloud operators’ demand for interconnected data centers. The goal for future form factors is to reduce their size and thus decrease power consumption and increase density. Also, service providers want to decrease price per bit. Progress in integration of optical component technologies led to dramatic reductions in complexity and cost of the modules.

The industry is developing different approaches for heterogeneous integration of InP lasers directly onto silicon chips. While InP material platform dominates in intermediate reach from 500m to 2km and long-reach of 10km and beyond, silicon photonics might be a key enabling technology for certain data center applications needed to address growing traffic at lower cost.

Yole Développement, Intel and System Plus Consulting are joining forces to provide a powerful webinar on optical transceivers industry.

• Yole Développement will explore trends in players’ strategies, future technologies, roadmaps and markets forecasts in the optical transceiver industry.
• System Plus Consulting will compare the two 100Gb CWDM4 optical transceivers, standard solution from Finisar and Intel photonic die solution.
• Intel will review the recent trends for pluggable transceivers from 100G to 800G and discuss how continued bandwidth scaling is driving the need for a much tighter integration of optics and electronics.

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