CONNECTIONS_55-e

Trends
Time
for 400G
050.6670
Fiber-optic signal transmission is reaching a new dimension: 400 Gigabits per
second. The subject dominated the specialist OFC 2018 congress in San Diego.
400G chips will be commercially available from the end of 2018.
The Optical Fiber Communication Conference
and Exhibition (OFC) has once again
broken a record. This year, 15,500 experts
traveled to the conference to swap stories
on their experience with technologies for
the fastest possible data transmission. The
R&M Innovation Team was also present to
find out about new and upcoming high tech
developments which will then immediately be
incorporated in innovation planning.
The general consensus of opinion at the OFC
2018 was: The time has come for 400 Gigabit/s.
This will give data centers the opportunity
to work even faster than they are working
now. A further focal point was the launch of 5G
services which will require a massive extension
Deployed Coherent Bandwidth by Speed
% Total Bandwidth Deployed
100 %
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75 %
50 %
25 %
0 %
of FO networks both in expanses and between
the base stations and antennas.
The OFC exhibitors presented a wide range
of 400G chips, components and modules
which will soon be available commercially.
There are basically three formats which will
be competing against one another, supported
by well-known manufacturer groups (multi
source agreements, MSA).
The two market-ready transceiver formats
– QSFP-DD and OSFP – are the logical
continuation of conventional connectivity
with plug-in, active connectors on the front
panel of a switch. Frequency, modulation
and transmission speed will increase, the
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2021
100G 200G 400G Source: Cignal AI, Optical Applications Report
form factor is becoming more compact,
energy consumption will fall in comparison
to common transceivers used to date. The
QSFP-DD concept is currently seen as the
clear leader on the way to 400G.
COBO chooses a new path
The COBO consortium is proposing an even
more radical change. The COBO concept
envisages the plug-in transceiver module
moving to the main board. The copper path
between electronics and interface will thus
be greatly reduced. The modules are likely
to transmit 400 Gbit/s or 800 Gbit/s. Small,
passive fiber-optic connectors take on the
connection function in the front panel.
The consortium led by Microsoft published
a first specification for COBO connectors at
the OFC.
050.6231
Dr. Blanca Ruíz
Innovation Project Manager
blanca.ruiz@rdm.com
10 10I2018–55 CONNECTIONS