Mellanox and Accelink partner to provide 100Gb/s PSM4 Ethernet transceivers

End-to-end optoelectronics component maker Accelink Technologies Co Ltd of Wuhan, China has introduced a 1550nm 100Gb/s PSM4 transceiver based on the silicon photonics optical engine of Mellanox Technologies Ltd of Sunnyvale, CA, USA and Yokneam, Israel (a supplier of end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services for data-center servers and storage systems). Serving the growing demand of hyperscale Web 2.0 and cloud interconnects, the new Accelink transceiver provides an additional source and full interoperability with PSM4 transceivers from Mellanox.

“PSM4 represents the highest-volume, most cost-effective and flexible 100Gb/s transceiver for single-mode fiber in data-center applications,” says Amir Prescher, senior VP of business development & general manager of the interconnect business at Mellanox. “Customers benefit by having more supplier options; Mellanox and Accelink both benefit by expanding the market for 100Gb/s products,” he adds.

“Chinese Web 2.0 and datacenters are transitioning to 100Gb/s networks, so the timing is perfect for us,” says Accelink’s general manager Zhang Jun. “The fully qualified Mellanox optical engine significantly reduced our time to market,” he adds. “With no lenses, isolators or hermetic packages, the Mellanox solution is easier to assemble and lower cost than competitor solutions.”

The Mellanox optical engine was announced in March at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC 2017) in Los Angeles. The components are fully qualified for use in low-cost, electronics-style packaging, ensuring a low-risk and quick time to market, says Mellanox. Because the silicon photonics platform eliminates the need for complex optical alignment of lenses, isolators and laser subassemblies, users can scale to high-volume manufacturing more easily and more quickly than using traditional technologies.

The new Accelink transceivers are being showcased in Mellanox’s booth (#1A22-1, Hall 1) at the China International Optoelectronics Exhibition (CIOE 2017) in Shenzhen, China (6-9 September). The booth features: Accelink and Mellanox 100Gb/s PSM4 transceivers; new 100Gb/s SR4 transceivers for Gen 5 Wireless applications; LinkX 25G/50G/100Gb/s direct attach copper (DAC) cable & active optical cables (AOC) and 100G SR4 & PSM4 transceivers; and silicon photonics optical engines and components.