English

DustPhotonic is the first to develop an 800G silicon photonic chip

188
2023-10-13 13:48:35
See translation

Recently, DustPhotonics released a single chip 800G-DR8 silicon photonic chip for data center applications, which is an important milestone in practical photonics in data centers. The company claims that its single-chip solution provides high-performance and easy to implement solutions for system architects.

DustPhotonics' 800G-DR8 photonic integrated circuit provides a single chip solution for fiber copper interconnections in data centers and artificial intelligence applications. The equipment is currently in the sample stage and is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2024.

Although photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have been used in high-bandwidth and high-efficiency applications for some time, not all processes are the same. Some photonic processes utilize wide bandgap semiconductors based on gallium or indium. Alternatively, DustPhotonics' progress is based on silicon photonics, which opens the door to more mature and scalable processes for silicon.

Data centers require high bandwidth solutions
As the amount of data flowing through the data center continues to increase, limited transmission speeds have caused processing bottlenecks. Although traditional copper based cabling solutions are sufficient to meet many applications, they cannot support the bandwidth and efficiency requirements required for next-generation data centers.

This becomes particularly true when 800Gb/s transmission is approaching, especially when looking ahead to data rates of 1.6 Tb/s and 3.2 Tb/s. Therefore, designers are studying photonics to improve the bandwidth and efficiency of data center communication.

(Image source: Rosenberger)

As the demand for higher data rates increases, data centers may benefit from utilizing photonic solutions. This is not to say that PIC is currently the best solution for everyone. If the application does not require sustained high data rates, deploying photonic solutions may bring step-by-step improvements to many headache problems. By utilizing silicon photonics, single chip solutions can be deployed instead of using discrete components, thereby reducing system complexity, power consumption, and cost.

800G transmission rate
DustPhotonics' 800G photonic integrated circuit provides designers with a single chip solution for DR8 applications, providing a relatively easy transition to higher data rates. The chip itself supports 8 optical channels, each with a modulation rate of 100Gb/s, and can use single-mode fiber.

Although the chip includes lasers in its packaging, it also utilizes DustPhotonics' low loss laser coupling technology to support various commercial off the shelf lasers. In addition, compared to solutions using discrete components, the single chip solution reduces power consumption by 20%, improves overall efficiency, while maintaining the simplicity of the system itself.

(Image source: DustPhotonics)

The Combination of Silicon Photonics and CMOS
Although silicon photonics may not be a universal semiconductor technology, it does bring countless benefits, including improved bandwidth, efficiency, and throughput for optical/electrical conversion. By utilizing mature silicon processes, silicon photonics solutions may exhibit faster development cycles than other technologies.

Due to the integration of silicon photonics technology with traditional CMOS design, it may become more common in data center applications. DustPhotonics 800G PIC provides an example of this possibility and emphasizes the utility of integrating optical and electrical transmission to improve data rates.

Source: OFweek

Related Recommendations
  • IPG Q1 revenue of $252 million, co-founder and new CEO of Jiaobang

    Recently, IPG Photonics, a high-performance fiber laser supplier in the United States, released its first quarter financial report as of March 31, 2024.The financial report shows that IPG Photonics revenue in the first quarter was 252 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 27%; The net profit was 19 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 75%. The change in foreign exchange rate res...

    2024-05-07
    See translation
  • Additive manufacturing of free-form optical devices for space use

    A group of researchers and companies are using the iLAuNCH Trailblazer program to develop and identify new optical manufacturing processes and materials for space flight applications, and demonstrating them in space cameras.The University of South Australia, together with SMR Australia and VPG Innovation, will utilize an emerging optical manufacturing technology called freeform optics, which is no...

    2023-12-04
    See translation
  • Ultra fast plasma for all optical switches and pulse lasers

    Plasmology plays a crucial role in advancing nanophotonics, as plasma structures exhibit a wide range of physical properties that benefit from local and enhanced light matter interactions. These characteristics are utilized in many applications, such as surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy, sensors, and nanolasers.In addition to these applications, the ultrafast optical response of plasm...

    2024-03-26
    See translation
  • Ultra wideband pulse compression grating for single cycle Ava laser implemented by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics

    Recently, Shao Jianda, a researcher of Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jin Yunxia, a researcher team, and Li Chaoyang, a researcher of Zhangjiang Laboratory, have made breakthroughs in the field of ultra wideband pulse compression gratings.The research team has successfully developed a ultra 400 nm broadband gold grating for single cycle pulse com...

    2023-10-01
    See translation
  • Progress has been made in the corrosion mechanism of alkali aluminum phosphate glass at Shanghai Optics and Machinery Institute

    Recently, the Advanced Laser and Optoelectronic Functional Materials Department of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made new progress in the corrosion mechanism of alkali aluminophosphate glass. The research findings were published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C under the title "Formation Mechanism of Crystal Phase during Corrosion ...

    2024-07-10
    See translation