SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 24, 2018 — Oclaro, Inc., a leading provider and innovator of optical communications solutions, today announced that it will be demonstrating interoperability of its leading 100G PAM4 electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) technology integrated into the 100G QSFP28 form factor at this week’s ECOC Exhibition in Rome. The transceiver will be part of the plug fest (Booth #123) organized by the 100G Single Lambda Multi-Source Agreement (MSA). Oclaro also announced that sampling will begin later this year of its new high-density QSFP-DD solution, which uses this same 100G PAM4 EML technology in 4 lanes to enable an aggregated data rate of 425 Gbps.

“The breakthrough demonstration of the 100G single lambda optical link was made possible through the use of Oclaro’s world-class integrated indium phosphide (InP) 100G PAM4 EML technology,” said Yves LeMaitre, Chief Strategy Officer at Oclaro. “When combined with the latest generation DSPs, our high-bandwidth EMLs enable new transceiver designs for 100G per wavelength and 400G. Products such as Oclaro’s QSFP-DD are critical to hyperscale data center operators to leverage a new generation of switching ASICs and allow for a faster migration to 400G.”

The Oclaro 400G QSFP56-DD FR4 transceiver significantly reduces system cost per port by enabling 36 ports of 400G per 1RU compared to only 18 ports of 400G with CFP8 (1^st generation 400G modules). To ensure interoperability, Oclaro has been actively involved in the 100G Lambda MSA and QSFP-DD MSA. In August of this year, Oclaro successfully interfaced the transceiver’s mechanical housing with leading QSFP-DD connector and cage vendors at the QSFP-DD MSA mechanical plug fest. Earlier this month, Oclaro also participated with its 100G QSFP28-FR and 400G QSFP-DD FR4 transceivers in an interoperability test organized by the 100G Lambda MSA.

About Oclaro’s 400G QSFP56–DD FR4 Transceivers

Enabled by Oclaro’s high-performance 100G EMLs, the new 400G QSFP56-DD FR4 transceiver represents a new generation of optical transceiver solutions for hyper-scale datacenter applications.  Key features include the following:

• 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400GbE) transceiver operating at a data rate of 425 Gbps
• Compliant to the 400G-FR4 optical interface specification of the 100G Lambda MSA and the 400GAUI-8 electrical interface specification of the IEEE
• Transmission distance up to 2km, which supports 95 percent of links inside data centers
• Compliant to QSFP-DD MSA hardware specification
• Optical transmitter with 4 EMLs in the 1.3 mm wavelength band aligned to the CWDM grid
• Optical receiver with 4 channel PIN photodetector
• Low power consumption of 12 W, which is key to lowering operating expense
• Operating case temperature of 0-to-70 degrees Celsius
• Hot Z-pluggable to 76-pad QSFP-DD electrical connector so that transceivers can be installed or removed without affecting the rest of the network. This enables a “pay as you grow” model for 400G capacity increases.

Availability

Oclaro’s 100G PAM4 EMLs are fully qualified and in volume production. Oclaro will begin shipping initial samples of the 400G QSFP56-DD FR4 during the fourth quarter of 2018 with volume production planned for the second quarter of 2019.

About Oclaro

Oclaro, Inc. is a leader in optical components and modules for the long-haul, metro and data center markets. Leveraging more than three decades of innovation in laser technology and photonics integration, Oclaro provides differentiated solutions for optical networks and high-speed interconnects driving the next wave of streaming video, cloud computing, application virtualization, and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

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Source: Oclaro