MACOM launches first end-to-end 100G single-lambda solution scalable to 400G for cloud datacenters

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) has launched what it claims is the first complete 100G single-lambda solution that enables the cost structure with the supply-chain flexibility for mainstream cloud datacenter deployment. Designed to help accelerate the deployment of 100G optical interconnects at cloud-scale cost structures, MACOM says that its 100G Single Lambda Solution enables customers to quickly and easily integrate high-performance MACOM components and get to market faster with the next generation of 100G optical modules.

The 100G Single Lambda Solution leverages the firm’s 53 Gbaud PAM-4 technology to deliver 100G throughput over a single wavelength. 100G single lambda is an approach that has been endorsed by the IEEE that can dramatically reduce the number and cost of optical components typically housed in an optical transceiver module. It is implemented in QSFP optical modules enabling plug & play compatibility with existing systems, accelerating customers’ field deployment of the technology, and bypassing the need for switches and routers to be developed before they can deploy their end solutions in volume.

“The breadth of MACOM’s analog, optical and photonic technology portfolio, combined with our deep domain expertise and cloud-scale manufacturing capability, position us as the clear industry leader in 100G-enabling components on the pathway to 200G, 400G and 800G connectivity,” reckons Preet Virk, senior VP & general manager, Networks, at MACOM. “By aligning our cloud datacenter strategy with the requirements of our end customers, we’re enabling the highest-performance, most cost-effective module solutions for next-generation cloud datacenter infrastructure.”

Leveraging a 16nm FinFET process node, MACOM’s PRISM mixed-signal PHY that underpins the 100G Single Lambda Solution is reckoned to be a generation ahead of competing PHYs developed at larger, planar geometries. Designed for 53Gbaud PAM4 operation with an integrated linear laser driver, forward error correction (FEC) and a flexible digital signal processer (DSP)-based equalizer, PRISM is said to enable ease of integration, delivering cloud-scale economics and cost structures.

PRISM is complemented by MACOM’s silicon photonics based optics consisting of a laser integrated with a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip that leverages the firm’s patented etched facet technology (EFT).

MACOM’s 100G Single Lambda Solution hence includes the following products:

• PRISM mixed-signal PHY (MATP-10025);
• 53GB PAM-4 single-lambda 100GL-PIC (MAOP-L561PP);
• 1x53GB PAM-4 TIA (MATA-005817);
• 4x53GB PAM-4 TIA (MATA-03819 and MATA-03919);
• 1x53GB PAM-4 PIN photodiode BSP56A/QA; and
• PAM-4 TOSA/ROSA for 53GB applications.

MACOM says that this highly integrated photonic solution drives additional cost optimization, enabling cloud-scale manufacturing capabilities for customers.

“Cloud datacenters have moved quickly to deploy first-generation 100G modules, but insatiable data demands, unrelenting cost pressures and compressing upgrade cycles require a new generation of modules that enable datacenters to eliminate capacity, throughput and cost constraints,” comments Kevin LeFebvre, principal analyst at market research firm Ovum. “MACOM’s Single Lambda 100G Solution embodies the technology innovation and 100G-to-400G roadmap acceleration needed to keep pace with unabated cloud datacenter growth.”

MACOM is showcasing its 100G Single Lambda Solution through video demonstration in booth #117 at ECOC 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden (17–21 September).