Finisar demonstrates its first silicon photonics transceiver

• Finisar unveiled its first silicon photonics-based product, a 400-gigabit QSFP-DD DR4 module, at the recent ECOC event.

• The company also showed transceiver technology that simplifies the setting up of dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) links.

• Two 200-gigabit QSFP56 client-side modules and an extended reach 30km 400-gigabit eLR8 were also demonstrated by Finisar. 

• A 64-gigabaud integrated tunable transmitter and receiver assembly (ITTRA) was used to send a 400-gigabit coherent wavelength.  

Finisar is bringing to market its first silicon photonics-based optical module. 

Christian UrricarietThe 400GBASE-DR4 is an IEEE 500m-reach 400-gigabit parallel fibre standard based on four fibres, each carrying a 100-gigabit 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-4) signal. Finisar’s DR4 is integrated into a QSFP-DD module. 

“The DR4 is the 400-gigabit interface that most of the hyperscale cloud players are interested in first,” says Christian Urricariet, senior director of global marketing at Finisar.

The company demonstrated the module at the recent European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), held in Rome.  

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Intel targets 5G fronthaul with a 100G CWDM4 module

• Intel announced at ECOC that it is sampling a 10km extended temperature range 100-gigabit CWDM4 optical module for 5G fronthaul. 

• Another announced pluggable module pursued by Intel is the 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) parallel fibre DR4 standard.

• Intel, a backer of the CWDM8 MSA, says the 8-wavelength 400-gigabit module will not be in production before 2020.

Intel has expanded its portfolio of silicon photonics-based optical modules to address 5G mobile fronthaul and 400GbE.

Robert BlumAt the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) being held in Rome this week, Intel announced it is sampling a 100-gigabit CWDM4 module in a QSFP form factor for wireless fronthaul applications.

The CWDM4 module has an extended temperature range, -20°C to +85°C, and a 10km reach.

“The final samples are available now and [the product] will go into production in the first quarter of 2019,” says Robert Blum, director of strategic marketing and business development at Intel’s silicon photonics product division.

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