M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc of Lowell, MA, USA (which makes semiconductors, components and subassemblies for analog RF, microwave, millimeter-wave and photonic applications) is collaborating to demonstrate a single-mode 400G module in booth #1751 of Kaiam Corp of Newark, CA, USA at the Optical Fiber Communication conference & exposition (OFC 2015) in Los Angeles (24-26 March). Kaiam is a private company with high-speed transceiver and photonic integrated circuit (PIC) products, with large-scale manufacturing in Livingston, Scotland, UK.
MACOM says that it is consolidating the high-speed semiconductor content in 100G/400G transceivers, optimizing the chips to provide highly differentiated performance, power, size and cost benefits. Its MAOM-002304 quad DML (directly modulated laser) driver and M37049 quad CDR (clock & data recovery) IC will be featured in Kaiam's 400G over single-mode fiber demonstration, showcasing MACOM's optical and photonic content enabling next-generation optical networking applications. The ICs are claimed to have the lowest power in their class (critical for a 400Gbs multi-channel solution).
Kaiam's module is compatible with a CDFP connector and provides 50% higher density per 100G than QSFP28. While 16x25G is the IEEE standard proposal for multimode 400G, this is reckoned to be the industry's first demonstration of a single-mode 16x25G solution. The module is enabled by Kaiam's unique laser packaging technology that has been deployed for 40G and 100G. The approach is targeted at leading-edge 100G and 400G applications that cannot wait for 50G electrical interfaces.
"This joint demonstration showcases MACOM's ability to service 400G applications today," says MACOM product manager Ray Moroney. "With our roadmap commitment to lower-power, lower-cost, high-performing ICs, we believe we are positioned excellently to enable the industry's transition to 400G applications," he adds.
"Optical links are growing in every dimension available, both to higher baud rate and more lanes," says Kaiam's VP of marketing Karen Liu. "Kaiam's MEMS-based packaging is used in high-volume 4-channel products today," she adds. "This demonstration should alleviate any concerns the industry may have about moving to higher channel counts at 400G and beyond."
MACOM is a supplier of optical networking products that enable the transition to 100G and beyond. By moving information from the core network to data-centers worldwide, MACOM has the deep product portfolio, technological capabilities and optical networking expertise to accelerate speed-to-market, enabling 10-400G design and deployment.
