Silicon Photonics spills over into new markets

Part 1: Yole market analysis

The market for silicon photonics is set to grow eightfold by 2025.

So claims market research firm, Yole Développement, in its latest report on silicon photonics, a technology that enables optical components to be made on a silicon substrate.

Silicon photonics is also being used in new markets although optical transceivers will still account for the bulk of the revenues in 2025.

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CW-WDM MSA charts a parallel path for optics

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become an integral part of the businesses of the webscale players.

The mega data centre players apply machine learning to the treasure trove of data collected from users to improve services and target advertising.

They can also use their data centres to offer cloud-based AI services.

Training neural networks with data sets is so intensive that it is driving new processor and networking requirements.

It is also impacting optics. Optical interfaces will need to become faster to cope with the amount of data, and that means interfaces with more parallel channels.

Anticipating these trends, a group of companies has formed the Continuous-Wave Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CW-WDM) multi-source agreement (MSA).

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ADVA enables the sharing of spectrum at the optical layer

• Spectrum-as-a-service enables third parties to run networks over existing optical infrastructure.

• ADVA has also simplified linking systems to the metro-access network using self-tuning SFP+ optical modules.

ADVA has developed a scheme whereby communications service providers can sell unused fibre capacity to customers to design and run their own optical networks.

“Optical spectrum-as-a-service gives communications service providers tools to sell spectrum to someone else who now doesn’t need to build a parallel infrastructure,” says Jörg-Peter Elbers, ADVA’s senior vice president, advanced technology, standards and IPR.

 Jörg-Peter Elbers

ADVA has also developed a G.metro-compliant dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) scheme to simplify linking business parks, radio cell towers and small cells to a metro-access network.

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Windstream to add ICE6 as it stirs its optical network

• Windstream has used Infinera’s latest optical equipment to send an 800-gigabit signal over 730km.

• The operator wants to reduce the cost of sending bits and slash the time taken to fulfil wholesale orders.

Windstream has sent an 800-gigabit optical signal between the US cities of Phoenix and San Diego.

The operator used Infinera’s Groove modular chassis fitted with its latest ICE6 infinite capacity engine for the trial.

Infinera reported in March sending an 800-gigabit signal 950km with another operator but this is the first time a customer, Windstream, is openly discussing a trial and the technology.

Art Nichols

The bulk of Windstream’s traffic is sent using 100-gigabit wavelengths. Moving to 800-gigabit will reduce its optical transport costs.

Windstream will also be able to cram more digital traffic down its fibre. It sends 12 terabits and that could grow to 40 terabits.

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OIF to double data rate with a 224G electrical interface

• The OIF will develop a faster electrical signalling standard 
• The 224-gigabit standard will make optical modules sleeker 
• It will also help data centre operators keep up with ever-growing software workloads

Nathan TracyIt was just a matter of time before the OIF started on the next electrical interface standard beyond 112 gigabits-per-second (Gbps).

There have been announcements of new 800-gigabit optical modules along with growing interest in co-packaged optics, where optical interfaces are added alongside semiconductor chips.

Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and OIF president, says member companies will need to be creative to develop a 224-gigabit electrical interface. Getting signals to travel at such speeds over workable distances will be a challenge.  

The project, to kick-off in August, will begin with a study phase that will help identify the interface types needed.  

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II-VI shrinks an optical line system into an OSFP module

II-VI has developed an optical line system that fits inside a pluggable module. 

The advent of coherent pluggable modules implementing the 400ZR standard allows switches and routers to be linked across separate data centres. Now, with a pluggable optical line system, a dedicated line-system platform is no longer needed to send the 400ZR signals over a fibre. 

Sanjai ParthasarathiIn turn, the network operating system on the switch manages the optical line system directly such that a separate optical management software layer is no longer needed.

“We have shrunk an entire pizza-box line system into a small pluggable,” says Sanjai Parthasarathi, chief marketing officer at II-VI.

Indeed, one customer refers to the II-VI pluggable product - dubbed the OSFP-LS - as a ‘zero-rack-unit’ platform.

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Ethernet Alliance on 800G and the next Ethernet rate

It may have taken the industry five years to get 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) modules shipping, but for Mark Nowell, Advisory Board Chair at the Ethernet Alliance, the long gestation period is understandable given the innovation that has been required.

Mark Nowell

The industry has had to cram complex technology into a small form factor for 400GbE while meeting the requirements of two very different end-customers: webscale players and communications service providers.

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