400-gigabit coherent modules finally hit their stride
NeoPhotonics discusses 400-gigabit coherent modules, the move to 130-gigabaud symbol-rate optical components and a company tunable laser milestone.
NeoPhotonics’ 400ZR pluggable optical modules are now available and will ship in volume from the autumn.
“The QSFP-DD and OSFP 400ZR [optical modules] have passed qualification tests and we are engaged in numerous customer qualifications around the world,” says Ferris Lipscomb, vice president of marketing at NeoPhotonics.
400ZR modules implement the OIF’s 400-gigabit standard to connect directly equipment in data centres up to 120km apart without needing separate dedicated dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transport equipment. The first 400ZR modules will be used by data centre operators.
But coherent pluggables support longer-reach modes. These may be interoperable if implementing the OpenZR+ multi-source agreement (MSA) or when delivering custom optical performance that are referred to as ZR+ modules.
NeoPhotonics has reported that its 400-gigabit coherent QSFP-DD when operated as a ZR+ module can achieve an 800km reach.