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How To Make a Photonic Integrated Circuit

Press Releases

May 2, 2023

EFFECT Photonics Tapes out World’s First full Photonic Integration Coherent PIC

Building on its Full Photonic Integration InP wafer scale platforms, EFFECT Photonics has taped out…

Building on its Full Photonic Integration InP wafer scale platforms, EFFECT Photonics has taped out the Manta chip: the world’s first fully integrated coherent PIC targeted at pluggable coherent transceivers for the edge and metro/access networks.

The Manta PIC fully integrates an ultra-narrow linewidth full band tunable laser, 64Gbaud coherent receiver, 64Gbaud coherent transmitter, wavelength locking and on-chip amplification for the transmit and receive paths. This gives unprecedented OSNR performance with power consumption lower than a stand-alone ITLA.

Tim Koene, VP Engineering at EFFECT Photonics, describes the benefits of the approach: “Full Photonic Integration means including all of the needed functions for coherent. In some approaches, the most costly functionalities, notably the laser, amplification and wavelength locking, are not integrated, and this creates optical loss, higher cost and higher assembly complexity. Truly integrating everything allows us to overcome those hurdles and create a high-performance, low-power consumption, low-cost solution for coherent.”

EFFECT Photonics will build small form-factor coherent pluggables optimised for industrial temperature operation. They will be deployed in next generation access networks and be able to provide turnkey coherent transmission over 120km of unamplified links.

James Regan, CEO at EFFECT Photonics, comments on the achievement: “Being able to deliver this single-chip solution in the same industrial-temperature specification, non-hermetic platform, with which we are shipping our tunable SFP+ targeting 5G wireless connectivity, is a game changer. It enables us to execute on our strategy and take the benefits of coherent technology closer than has been possible before to the end user in high-volume applications.”

The Manta PIC is fabricated on EFFECT Photonics’ 3″ InP platform and will be ported to 4″ fabrication later this year. It is set to drive a revolution in cost optimisation for the next generation of coherent networks.

-End-

About EFFECT Photonics

EFFECT Photonics delivers highly integrated optical communications products based on its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical System-on-Chip technology. The key enabling technology for DWDM systems is full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip and being able to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. With this capability, EFFECT Photonics is addressing the need for low cost DWDM solutions driven by the soaring demand for high bandwidth connections between datacenters and back from mobile cell towers. Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with additional R&D and manufacturing in South West UK, with sales partners worldwide. www.effectphotonics.com

For further information please contact sales@effectphotonics.com

Tags: 5G, DSP, Integrated Photonics, Photonics, PIC

Press Releases

May 2, 2023

EFFECT Photonics completes its Series-C funding round raising a total of $43M

Today EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of high-performance dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical components…

Today EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of high-performance dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical components based on its optical System-on-Chip technology, announces the completion of its Series-C funding round, with an additional $6M from the Dutch impact investor Invest-NL, raising a total of $43M.

The first close of the investment round, was co-led by Smile Invest together with existing investor Innovation Industries Fund, exactly one year after announcing the tape-out of its Manta full photonic integration coherent PIC. Smile Invest are joined by existing investors including Innovation Industries Fund, Photon Delta, btov Partners, Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and individual investors. This new round of funding will be used to further expand the current product line of optical transceivers for among other things 5G networks, and to scale up production capacity. In addition, the R&D activities for the next generation of optical chips, with capacity of more than 400 gigabits per second, will also be ramped up.

(Integrated) photonics is a chip technology in which light signals (photons) are used instead of electrical signals (electrons). In a photonic chip, light signals can be generated, modulated, filtered, and detected. The chip technology developed in Eindhoven is the only photonics technology in which all these functions are combined on a single chip, which replaces a complete optical system. These photonic chips currently allow for high-speed data transfer over fiber optic networks, but the technology can also be used in highly sensitive measuring systems in the medical, automotive and the agri-food industries. It is expected that future quantum computers will also use photonic chips on a large scale.

EFFECT Photonics is a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of Technology. As a pioneer in the field, it is one of the first companies to successfully bring a product on the market based on the photonics technology developed at the university. The demand for internet bandwidth by end-users is growing exponentially every year. A trend that is being further accelerated by primarily by the roll-out of 5G, and the increase in working from home due to the Corona virus. EFFECT Photonics enables network operators to increase the capacity of their existing infrastructure without having to lay addition cables which is very costly. Upgrading the transceivers is therefore a more cost-efficient solution in address this need for additional bandwidth.

Boudewijn Docter, one of the founders and President of EFFECT Photonics: “As a company, we have come a long way to make the photonics technology market-ready. We are pleased that Invest-NL is joining our other investors in helping us scale up our production and enabling us to bring additional products to market quicker”.

Ruud Zandvliet, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL: “The Netherlands has a unique ecosystem for photonics technologies. EFFECT Photonics is a leading player in this field, capable of developing complex, fully integrated photonic chips. This offers the company the opportunity be a leading player as a manufacturer of the next generation of transceivers. By joining this investment round, Invest-NL contributes to the availability of financing for upscaling and future R&D investments. This is a good example of the role Invest-NL plays in increasing the strength of scale-ups and is in line with our objective of making the Netherlands more sustainable and innovative.

— End of Press Release —

About EFFECT Photonics

EFFECT Photonics produces components for fiber optic networks based on photonic chip technology, originally developed at Eindhoven University of Technology. The unique chip technology from EFFECT Photonics delivers high communication speeds for low costs and low energy consumption. EFFECT Photonics products are used to connect mobile network transmitters to the rest of the Internet and to connect data centers. With the technology of EFFECT Photonics, the capacity of existing fiber optic networks can be increased without having to install additional cables. EFFECT Photonics has offices in Eindhoven Netherlands, Great Britain and Taiwan and an international network of sales partners. www.effectphotonics.com

Contact EFFECT Photonics: press@effectphotonics.com • +31 403041359

About Invest-NL

Invest-NL is an impact investor committed to businesses and projects that will make the Netherlands more sustainable and innovative. Its focus lies on carbon-neutral and circular economy and on innovative, fast-growing companies, or scale-ups. Invest-NL supports innovative entrepreneurs through financing and advice according to one simple principle: impact is our goal, return is our means. As the Dutch partner for European investment institutions, Invest-NL is dedicated to cooperation and always works together with other investors. Invest-NL is headquartered in Amsterdam and employs a staff of 60 people. For more information, go to https://www.invest-nl.nl.

Contact Invest-NL: • Paul Hartogsveld: press@invest-nl.nl • +31 611589127

Tags: CoherentPIC, Investment, InvestNL, Photonics, Telecom

The Fabrication Process Inside a Photonic Foundry

Insights

May 1, 2023

The Fabrication Process Inside a Photonic Foundry

Photonics is one of the enabling technologies of the future. Light is the fastest information…

Photonics is one of the enabling technologies of the future. Light is the fastest information carrier in the universe and can transmit this information while dissipating less heat and energy than electrical signals. Thus, photonics can dramatically increase the speed, reach, and flexibility of communication networks and cope with the ever-growing demand for more data. And it will do so at a lower energy cost, decreasing the Internet’s carbon footprint. Meanwhile, fast and efficient photonic signals have massive potential for sensing and imaging applications in medical devices, automotive LIDAR, agricultural and food diagnostics, and more.

Given its importance, we should discuss the fabrication processes inside photonic semiconductor foundries.

Manufacturing semiconductor chips for photonics and electronics is one of the most complex procedures in the world. For example, back in his university days, EFFECT Photonics co-founder Boudewijn Docter described a fabrication process with 243 steps!

Yuqing Jiao, Associate Professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), explains the fabrication process in a few basic, simplified steps:

Grow or deposit your chip material
Print a pattern on the material
Etch the printed pattern into your material
Do some cleaning and extra surface preparation
Go back to step 1 and repeat as needed

Real life is, of course, a lot more complicated and will require cycling through these steps tens of times, leading to processes with more than 200 total steps. Let’s go through these basic steps in a bit more detail.

Figure 1: Basic steps of a semiconductor fabrication process that are repeated in a single fabrication cycle. An entire wafer manufacturing process requires tens of these cycles.

1. Layer Epitaxy and Deposition: Different chip elements require different semiconductor material layers. These layers can be grown on the semiconductor wafer via a process called epitaxy or deposited via other methods, such as physical or chemical vapor deposition.

Figure 2: Simplified example of PIC elements and their required material layers. Source: Smit et al. (2014)

2. Lithography (i.e., printing): There are a few lithography methods, but the one used for high-volume chip fabrication is projection optical lithography. The semiconductor wafer is coated with aphotosensitive polymer film called a photoresist. Meanwhile, the design layout pattern is transferred to an opaque material called a mask. The optical lithography system projects the mask pattern onto the photoresist. The exposed photoresist is then developed (like photographic film) to complete the pattern printing.

Figure 3: Comparison of different optical lithography approaches. Contact and proximity printing keeps the mask in contact with or close to the sample. Projection printing keeps the mask further away and is initially more expensive, but it is the technology of choice for high-volume manufacturing. Source: J. Shen, University of Waterloo Ph.D. Thesis (2018)

3. Etching: Having “printed” the pattern on the photoresist, it is time to remove (or etch) parts of the semiconductor material to transfer the pattern from the resist into the wafer. Etching techniques can be broadly classified into two categories.

Dry Etching: These processes remove material by bombarding it with ions. Typically, these ions come from a plasma of reactive gases like oxygen, boron, chlorine, etc. This approach is often used to etch a material anisotropically (i.e., in a specific direction).
Wet Etching: These processes involve the removal of material using a liquid reactant. The material to be etched is immersed in the solution, which will dissolve the targeted material layers. This solution usually consists of an acid, such as hydrofluoric acid (HFl), to etch silicon. Wet etching is typically used for etching a material isotropically (i.e., in all directions).

Figure 4: Example of what a semiconductor wafer with resist (red color) on top of it looks like before and after an etching step.

4. Cleaning and Surface Preparation: After etching, a series of steps will clean and prepare the surface before the next cycle.

Passivation: Adding layers of dielectric material (such as silica) to “passivate” the chip and make it more tolerant to environmental effects.
Planarization: Making the surface flat in preparation for future lithography and etching steps.
Metallization: Depositing metal components and films on the wafer. This might be done for future lithography and etching steps or, in the end, to add electrical contacts to the chip.

Figure 5 summarizes how an InP photonic device looks after the steps of layer epitaxy, etching, dielectric deposition and planarization, and metallization.

Figure 5: Cross-section of a semiconductor wafer structure after (a) epitaxial growth, (b) etching, (c) passivation and planarization, (d) metallization.

After this fabrication process ends, the processed wafers are shipped worldwide to be tested and packaged into photonic devices. This is an expensive process we discussed in one of our previous articles.

Takeaways

The process of making photonic integrated circuits is incredibly long and complex, and the steps we described in this article are a mere simplification of the entire process. It requires tremendous knowledge in chip design, fabrication, and testing from experts in different fields worldwide. EFFECT Photonics was founded by people who fabricated these chips themselves, understood the process intimately and developed the connections and network to develop cutting-edge PICs at scale.

Tags: Agricultural, Carbon Footprint, Chip Material, Cleaning, Communication Networks, Deposition, Energy Cost, Epitaxy, Etching, Fabrication Process, Food Diagnostics, Integrated Photonics, LIDAR, Lithography, Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Metallization, Photonic Foundry, Photonics, Semiconductor, Sensing and Imaging, Surface Preparation

System-On-Chip: A smaller world full of big advantages

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April 18, 2023

System-On-Chip: A smaller world full of big advantages

For those new to the subject, a System-on-Chip (SoC) is essentially an integrated electronic circuit…

For those new to the subject, a System-on-Chip (SoC) is essentially an integrated electronic circuit that takes a single platform and integrates a whole electronic or computer system onto it. As the name suggests, it combines that entire system on a single chip. To describe it very simply: imagine a full computer with a CPU, input and output ports, internal memory and so on; then miniaturize and compress it to fit on one chip. Depending on the kind of system, it can perform a variety of functions including signal processing, wireless communication, artificial intelligence and more.

The primary goal is to reduce energy waste and save on expense, while reducing the space occupied by large systems. With an SoC you achieve all those goals, as you essentially downsize what are normally multi-chip designs onto a single processor that uses much less power. The real-world applications of SoCs are practically limitless and priceless. They are used in most, if not all, portable devices, such as smartphones, cameras, tablets, and other wireless technologies. In fact, your smartphone is a good example of how an SoC works.

Use of your cell phone is not limited to making and receiving calls. You also use it to browse the internet, view videos, listen to audio, take photos, play games, send texts, and much more. None of this would be possible without multiple elements such as a graphics card, internet support, wireless connections, and GPS, to name but a few. An SoC allows you to take all of these components, put them on a single chip, shrink the whole package down to a size that can fit in the palm of your hand, and carry it around in your phone.

Along with the example of our portable phones, SoC is frequently used in equipment involved in the Internet of Things, embedded systems and, of course, photonics.

EFFECT Photonics’ spin on SoC

While electrical SoCs have been around for some time, EFFECT Photonics is the first company in the world to introduce a full optical SoC – combining all the optical elements needed for optical networking onto a single die.
One key application of EFFECT Photonics’ SoC technology is within dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), and this is regarded as an important innovation in optical networks. DWDM is scalable, transparent and enables provision of high-bandwidth services. It is the technology of choice for many networking applications today. By using many different wavelengths of light to route data, these systems are more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective to build, own and operate compared to single-channel, point-to-point links. Thanks to our high-density electrical interconnect and packaging technology, the optical system-on-a-chip can be assembled for volume manufacture at low cost.

As the channel count increases, the physical space in which the equipment is housed gets larger and the power consumption increases as well. The key enablers for DWDM systems at the edge of the network are photonic integration of components within a single chip; and the ability to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. This requires a change in the way indium phosphide (InP) chips are designed, tested, and packaged, which is where EFFECT Photonics comes in.

One of the key challenges for DWDM technology is the need for as many optical light sources, modulators, and detectors as there are channels in a system. Building and managing these using conventional discrete fibre optic components, line cards, AWG (arrayed waveguide) multiplexers and rackmount channel monitors quickly becomes prohibitively expensive. However, we can integrate all the following optical functions within a single InP chip: tuneable laser sources, AWG multiplexers, high-speed detectors, high-speed modulators, power taps and splitters, and channel monitoring.

Our SoC technology provides more bandwidth at a lower cost for applications like mobile fronthaul networks (5G), metro access networks and data centre interconnects (DCI). EFFECT Photonics has created a unique platform approach to integration, using high-yielding building blocks within the wafer. Growing different quaternary alloys of indium phosphide on a single wafer provides the following advantages:

All active and passive optical functions of a DWDM system combined into a single chip
Our unique packaging technology that scales in volume cost-effectively [parallel structure]
Smaller in size, lower in power
Industry-standard form factors and custom variants

For more on our optical system-on-a-chip products, visit: https://old.effect.jkc-dev.nl/products/pluggable-modules-direct-detect/
Get in touch with us for further information by sending your request to: sales@effectphotonics.com

Tags: 5G, DWDM, IntergratedPhotonics, Photonics, SFP

Insights

April 17, 2023

The Future of Coherent Transceivers in the Access

The demand for data and other digital services is rising exponentially. From 2010 to 2020,…

The demand for data and other digital services is rising exponentially. From 2010 to 2020, Internet users worldwide doubled, and global internet traffic increased 12-fold. From 2020 to 2026, internet traffic will likely increase 5-fold. To meet this demand, datacom and telecom operators need constantly upgrade their transport networks.

The major obstacles in this upgrade path remain the power consumption, thermal management, and affordability of transceivers. Over the last two decades, power ratings for pluggable modules have increased as we moved from direct detection to more power-hungry coherent transmission: from 2W for SFP modules to 3.5 W for QSFP modules and now to 14W for QSSFP-DD and 21.1W for OSFP form factors. This power consumption increase seems incompatible with the power constraints of the network edge.

This article will review trends in data rate, power consumption, and footprint for transceivers in the network edge that aim to address these challenges.

Downscaling Data Rates for the Access

Given the success of 400ZR pluggable coherent solutions in the market, discussions in the telecom sector about a future beyond 400G pluggables have often focused on 800G solutions and 800ZR. However, there is also increasing excitement about “downscaling” to 100G coherent products for applications in the network edge.

In the coming years, 100G coherent uplinks will become increasingly widespread in deployments and applications throughout the network edge. Some mobile access networks use cases must upgrade their existing 10G DWDM link aggregation into a single coherent 100G DWDM uplink. Meanwhile, cable networks and business services are upgrading their customer links from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, and this migration will be the significant factor that will increase the demand for coherent 100G uplinks. For carriers who provide converged cable/mobile access, these upgrades to 100G uplinks will enable opportunities to overlay more business services and mobile traffic into their existing cable networks.

You can read more about these developments in our previous article, When Will the Network Edge Go Coherent?

Moving Towards Low Power

Data centers and 5G networks might be hot commodities, but the infrastructure that enables them runs even hotter. Electronic equipment generates plenty of heat; the more heat energy an electronic device dissipates, the more money and energy must be spent to cool it down. These power efficiency issues do not just affect the environment but also the bottom lines of communications companies.

As shown in the table below, the growth of data centers and wireless networks will continue to drive power consumption upwards.

Figure : Comparison of estimated ICT electric power consumption in 2020 and 2030, divided by different ICT sectors. Source: Anders Andrae (Huawei), 2020.

These power constraints are even more pressing in the access network sector. Unlike data centers and the network core, access network equipment lives in uncontrolled environments with limited cooling capabilities. Therefore, every extra watt of pluggable power consumption will impact how vendors and operators design their cabinets and equipment.

These struggles are a major reason why QSFP28 form factor solutions are becoming increasingly attractive in the 100ZR domain. Their power consumption (up to 6 watts) is lower than that of QSFP-DD form factors (up to 14 Watts), which allows them to be stacked more densely in access network equipment rooms. Besides, QSFP28 modules are compatible with existing access network equipment, which often features QSFP28 slots.

Aside from the move to QSFP28 form factors for 100G coherent, EFFECT Photonics also believes in two other ways to reduce power consumption.

Increased Integration: The interconnections among smaller, highly-integrated optical components consume less power than those among more discrete components. We will discuss this further in the next section.
Co-Design: As we explained in a previous article about fit-for-platform DSPs, a transceiver optical engine designed on the indium phosphide platform could be designed to run at a voltage compatible with the DSP’s signal output. This way, the optimized DSP could drive the PIC directly without needing a separate analog driver, doing away with a significant power conversion overhead

Can We Still Move Towards Smaller Footprints?

Moving toward smaller pluggable footprints should not necessarily be a goal, but as we mentioned in the previous section, it is a means toward the goal of lower power consumption. Decreasing the size of optical components and their interconnections means that the light inside the chip will travel a smaller distance and accumulate fewer optical losses.

Let’s look at an example of lasers. In the last decade, technological progress in tunable laser packaging and integration has matched the need for smaller footprints. In 2011, tunable lasers followed the multi-source agreement (MSA) for integrable tunable laser assemblies (ITLAs). The ITLA package measured around 30.5 mm in width and 74 mm in length. By 2015, tunable lasers were sold in the more compact Micro-ITLA form factor, which cut the original ITLA package size in half. And in 2019, laser developers (see examples here and here) announced a new Nano-ITLA form factor that reduced the size by almost half again.

Evolution of tunable laser form factors for coherent optics SM — Evolution of tunable laser form factors for coherent optics (2011-2021). Figure inspired from a picture in Laser Focus World.

Reducing the footprint of tunable lasers in the future will need even greater integration of their parts. For example, every tunable laser needs a wavelength locker component that can stabilize the laser’s output regardless of environmental conditions such as temperature. Integrating the wavelength locker component on the laser chip instead of attaching it externally would help reduce the laser package’s footprint and power consumption.

Another potential future to reduce the size of tunable laser packages is related to the control electronics. The current ITLA standards include the complete control electronics on the laser package, including power conversion and temperature control. However, if the transceiver’s main board handles some of these electronic functions instead of the laser package, the size of the laser package can be reduced.

This approach means the reduced laser package would only have full functionality if connected to the main transceiver board. However, some transceiver developers will appreciate the laser package reduction and the extra freedom to provide their own laser control electronics.

Takeaways

The ever-increasing bandwidth demands in access networks force coherent pluggables to face the complex problem of maintaining a good enough performance while moving to lower cost and power consumption.

The move towards 100G coherent solutions in QSFP28 form factors will play a major role in meeting the power requirements of the access network sector. Further gains can be achieved with greater integration of optical components and co-designing the optics and electronic engines of the transceiver to reduce inefficiencies. Further gains in footprint for transceivers can also be obtained by eliminating redundant laser control functions in both the laser package and the main transceiver board.

Tags: 100G Coherent Products, 400ZR Pluggable Coherent Solutions, 5G Networks, 800G Solutions, 800ZR, Affordability, Coherent Transceivers, datacom, Direct Detection, EFFECT Photonics, Internet Traffic, network edge, OSFP Form Factors, Photonics, Pluggable Modules, power consumption, Power Efficiency, QSFP Modules, QSSFP-DD, Telecom Operators, Thermal Management

Insights

April 17, 2023

When will the Network Edge go Coherent?

Article first published 27 July 2022, updated 12 April 2023. Network carriers want to provide…

Article first published 27 July 2022, updated 12 April 2023.

Network carriers want to provide communications solutions in all areas: mobile access, cable networks, and fixed access to business customers. They want to provide this extra capacity and innovative and personalized connectivity and entertainment services to their customers.

Deploying only legacy direct detect technologies will not be enough to cover these growing bandwidth and service demands of mobile, cable, and business access networks with the required reach. In several cases, networks must deploy more 100G coherent dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology to transmit more information over long distances. Several applications in the optical network edge could benefit from upgrading from 10G DWDM or 100G grey aggregation uplinks to 100G DWDM optics:

Mobile Mid-haul benefits from seamlessly upgrading existing uplinks from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Mobile Backhaul benefits from upgrading their links to 100G IPoDWDM.
Cable Access links could upgrade the uplinks of existing termination devices such as optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) from 10G to 100G DWDM.
Business Services could scale enterprise bandwidth beyond single-channel 100G grey links.

However, network providers have often stuck to their 10G DWDM or 100G grey links because the existing 100G DWDM solutions could not check all the required boxes. “Scaled-down” coherent 400ZR solutions had the required reach and tunability but were too expensive and power-hungry for many access network applications. Besides, ports in small to medium IP routers used in most edge deployments often do not support the QSFP-DD form factor commonly used in 400ZR modules but the QSFP28 form factor.

Fortunately, the rise of 100ZR solutions in the QSFP28 form factor is changing the landscape for access networks. “The access market needs a simple, pluggable, low-cost upgrade to the 10G DWDM optics that it has been using for years. 100ZR is that upgrade,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst for Optical Components at market research firm Cignal AI. “As access networks migrate from 1G solutions to 10G solutions, 100ZR will be a critical enabling technology.”

In this article, we will discuss how the recent advances in 100ZR solutions will enable the evolution of different segments of the network edge: mobile midhaul and backhaul, business services, and cable.

How Coherent 100G Can Move into Mobile X-haul

The upgrade from 4G to 5G has shifted the radio access network (RAN) from a two-level structure with backhaul and fronthaul in 4G to a three-level structure with back-, mid-, and fronthaul:

Fronthaul is the segment between the active antenna unit (AAU) and the distributed unit (DU)
Midhaul is the segment from DU to the centralized unit (CU)
Backhaul is the segment from CU to the core network.

Figure 1: Simplified diagram that shows and compares the building blocks of 4G (left) and 5G (right) access networks and the links between these blocks.

The initial rollout of 5G has already happened in most developed countries, with many operators upgrading their 1G SFPs transceiver to 10G SFP+ devices. Some of these 10G solutions had DWDM technology; many were single-channel grey transceivers. However, mobile networks must move to the next phase of 5G deployments, which requires installing and aggregating more and smaller base stations to exponentially increase the number of devices connected to the network.

These mature phases of 5G deployment will require operators to continue scaling fiber capacity cost-effectively with more widespread 10G DWDM SFP+ solutions and 25G SFP28 transceivers. These upgrades will put greater pressure on the aggregation segments of mobile backhaul and midhaul. These network segments commonly used link aggregation of multiple 10G DWDM links into a higher bandwidth group (such as 4x10G). However, this link aggregation requires splitting up larger traffic streams and can be complex to integrate across an access ring. A single 100G uplink would reduce the need for such link aggregation and simplify the network setup and operations. If you want to know more about the potential market and reach of this link aggregation upgrade, we recommend reading the recent Cignal AI report on 100ZR technologies.

Cable Migration to 10G PON Will Drive the Use of Coherent 100G Uplinks

According to Cignal AI’s 100ZR report, the biggest driver of 100ZR use will come from multiplexing fixed access network links upgrading from 1G to 10G. This trend will be reflected in cable networks’ long-awaited migration from Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) to 10G PON. This evolution is primarily guided by the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard, which promises 10Gbps download speeds for customers and will require several hardware upgrades in cable networks.

To multiplex these new larger 10Gbps customer links, cable providers and network operators need to upgrade their optical line terminals (OLTs) and Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAPs) from 10G to 100G DWDM uplinks. Many of these new optical hubs will support up to 40 or 80 optical distribution networks (ODNs), too, so the previous approach of aggregating multiple 10G DWDM uplinks will not be enough to handle this increased capacity and higher number of channels.

Anticipating such needs, the non-profit R&D organization CableLabs has recently pushed to develop a 100G Coherent PON (C-PON) standard. Their proposal offers 100 Gbps per wavelength at a maximum reach of 80 km and up to a 1:512 split ratio. CableLabs anticipates C-PON and its 100G capabilities will play a significant role not just in cable optical network aggregation but in other use cases such as mobile x-haul, fiber-to-the-building (FTTB), long-reach rural scenarios, and distributed access networks.

Towards 100G Coherent and QSFP28 in Business Services

Almost every organization uses the cloud in some capacity, whether for development and test resources or software-as-a-service applications. While the cost and flexibility of the cloud are compelling, its use requires fast, high-bandwidth wide-area connectivity to make cloud-based applications work as they should.

Similarly to cable networks, these needs will require enterprises to upgrade their existing 1G Ethernet private lines to 10G Ethernet, which will also drive a greater need for 100G coherent uplinks. Cable providers and operators will also want to take advantage of their upgraded 10G PON networks and expand the reach and capacity of their business services.

The business and enterprise services sector was the earliest adopter of 100G coherent uplinks, deploying “scaled-down” 400ZR transceivers in the QSFP-DD form factor since they were the solution available at the time. However, these QSFP-DD slots also support QSFP28 form factors, so the rise of QSFP 100ZR solutions will provide these enterprise applications with a more attractive upgrade with lower cost and power consumption. These QSFP28 solutions had struggled to become more widespread before because they required the development of new, low-power digital signal processors (DSPs), but DSP developers and vendors are keenly jumping on board the 100ZR train and have announced their development projects: Acacia, Coherent/ADVA, Marvell/InnoLight, and Marvell/OE Solutions. This is also why EFFECT Photonics has announced its plans to co-develop a 100G DSP with Credo Semiconductor that best fits 100ZR solutions in the QSFP28 form factor.

Figure : Comparison between QSFP-DD and QSFP-28 form factors for 100G applications. — Figure 2 : Comparison between QSFP-DD and QSFP-28 form factors for 100G applications.

Takeaways

In the coming years, 100G coherent uplinks will become increasingly widespread in deployments and applications throughout the network edge. Some mobile access networks use cases must upgrade their existing 10G DWDM link aggregation into a single coherent 100G DWDM uplink. Meanwhile, cable networks and business services are upgrading their customer links from 1Gbps to 10Gbps, and this migration will be the major factor that will increase the demand for coherent 100G uplinks. For carriers who provide converged cable/mobile access, these upgrades to 100G uplinks will enable opportunities to overlay more business services and mobile traffic into their existing cable networks.

As the QSFP28 100ZR ecosystem expands, production will scale up, and these solutions will become more widespread and affordable, opening up even more use cases in access networks.

Tags: 5G, access, aggregation, backhaul, capacity, DWDM, fronthaul, Integrated Photonics, LightCounting, metro, midhaul, mobile, mobile access, network, optical networking, optical technology, photonic integrated chip, photonic integration, Photonics, PIC, PON, programmable photonic system-on-chip, solutions, technology

Technologies and trends and their impact

Insights

April 14, 2023

Scaling Up Live Event Coverage with 5G Technology

Everyone who has attended a major venue or event, such as a football stadium or…

Reconfigurable DSPs for Versatile Pluggables

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April 14, 2023

Reconfigurable DSPs for Versatile Pluggables

Carriers must solve the dilemma of how to use small and affordable coherent pluggables while…

Carriers must solve the dilemma of how to use small and affordable coherent pluggables while still having enough performance and reach to cover most of their network links. At EFFECT Photonics, we believe coherent pluggables with an optical System-on-Chip (SoC) can play a vital role in solving this carrier’s dilemma and simplifying network upgrades. Meanwhile, these new coherent pluggables could also enable longer, and higher-capacity data center interconnects for more sustainable data center architectures.

Another big factor in making networks more affordable and sustainable is software-defined networks (SDNs) and automation. SDNs enable the network function virtualization (NFV), which allows operators to implement more functions to manage and orchestrate the network. Operators will reap even further benefits by using an artificial intelligence (AI) management and orchestration layer with the SDN/NFV layer, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1: Example of a carrier network with different applications (mobile, home, office) automated via NFV control and AI management.

However, creating a fully automated network that can handle the ever-increasing amount of data and connected devices requires us to go beyond just adjusting the higher network layers. The orchestration and management software should also interface with the physical layer of the network, and that requires smart optical pluggable that adapt to varying network requirements. These requirements place additional burdens on digital signal processors (DSPs). DSPs are a vital component of coherent communication systems, as they perform the coding, decoding, and error corrections on the optical signal. Fortunately, the advances in electronic integration and standards make it so that a versatile coherent pluggable can benefit from an equally versatile and reconfigurable DSP.

Future Automated Networks Must Also Work on the Physical Layer

Telecom and datacom providers who want to become market leaders must scale up while also learning to allocate their existing network resources most efficiently and dynamically. SDNs can help achieve this efficient, dynamic network management. In a nutshell, the SDN paradigm separates the switching hardware from the software, allowing operators to virtualize network functions in a single centralized controller unit. This centralized management and orchestration (MANO) layer can implement network functions that the switches do not, allowing network operators to allocate network resources more intelligently and dynamically. This added flexibility and optimization will improve network outcomes for operators.

Figure 2: Comparing a traditional network approach (left) with an SDN/NFC approach (right).

However, the upcoming 5G networks will consist of a massive number of devices, software applications, and technologies. EFFECT Photonics believes that handling all these new devices and use cases will require self-managed, zero-touch automated networks. Realizing this full network automation requires two additional components alongside SDN and NFV:

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for complete network automation: For example, AI in network management will become a significant factor in reducing the energy consumption of future telecom networks.
Sensor and control data flow across all OSI model layers, including the physical layer: As networks get bigger and more complex, the management and orchestration (MANO) software needs more degrees of freedom and knobs to adjust. Next-generation MANO software needs to adjust and optimize both the physical and network layers to fit the network best.

Achieving the second goal requires smart optical equipment and components that can be diagnosed and managed remotely from the MANO layer. This context is where smart pluggable transceivers with reconfigurable DSPs come into play.

The Importance of Standardized Error Correction

Forward error correction (FEC) implemented by DSPs has become a vital component of coherent communication systems. FEC makes the coherent link much more tolerant to noise than a direct detect system and enables much longer reach and higher capacity. Thanks to FEC, coherent links can handle bit error rates that are literally a million times higher than a typical direct detect link. In other words, FEC algorithms allow the DSP to enhance the link performance without changing the hardware. This enhancement is analogous to imaging cameras: image processing algorithms allow the lenses inside your phone camera to produce a higher-quality image.

Figure 1 Simplified diagram of a network link with Forward Error Correction (FEC). — Figure 3: Simplified diagram of a network link with forward error correction (FEC). The FEC encoder adds a series of redundant bits (called overhead) to the transmitted data stream. The receiver can use this overhead to check for errors without asking the transmitter to resend the data.

When coherent transmission emerged, all FEC algorithms were proprietary. Equipment and component manufacturers closely guarded their FEC because it provided a critical competitive advantage. Therefore, coherent transceivers from different vendors could not operate with each other, and a single vendor had to be used for the entire network deployment. However, vendors had to adapt with data center providers pushing disaggregation deeper into communication networks. Their coherent transceivers needed to become interoperable, so FEC algorithms needed standardization. The OIF 400ZR standard for data center interconnects uses a public algorithm called concatenated FEC (CFEC). In contrast, some 400ZR+ MSA standards use open FEC (oFEC), which provides a more extended reach at the cost of a bit more bandwidth and energy consumption. For the longest possible link lengths (500+ kilometers), proprietary FECs become necessary for 400G transmission. Still, at least the public FEC standards have achieved interoperability for a large segment of the 400G transceiver market.

A Smart DSP to Rule All Network Links

A smart pluggable transceiver that can adapt to all the applications we have mentioned before—data centers, carrier networks, SDNs—requires an equally smart and versatile DSP. It must be a DSP that can be reconfigured via software to adapt to different network conditions and use cases. For example, a smart DSP could switch among different FEC algorithms to adapt to network performance and use cases. For example, let’s look at the case of upgrading a long metro link of 650km running at 100 Gbps with open FEC. The operator needs to increase that link capacity to 400 Gbps, but open FEC could struggle to provide the necessary link performance. However, if the DSP can be reconfigured to use a proprietary FEC standard, the transceiver will be able to handle this upgraded link.

	400ZR	Open ZR+	Proprietary Long Haul
Target Application	Edge data center interconnect	Metro, Regional data center interconnect	Long-Haul Carrier
Target Reach @ 400G	120km	500km	1000 km
Form Factor	QSFP-DD/OSFP	QSFP-DD/OSFP	QSFP-DD/OSFP
FEC	CFEC	oFEC	Proprietary
Standards / MSA	OIF	OpenZR+ MSA	Proprietary

Table 1: Summary of different use cases and standards for a 400G pluggable transceiver.

Reconfigurable DSPs can also be beneficial to auto-configure links to deal with specific network conditions, especially in brownfield links. For example, the DSP can be reconfigured to transmit at a higher baud rate if the link has a good quality fiber. However, the DSP could be reconfigured to scale down the baud rate to avoid bit errors if the fiber quality is poor. If the smart pluggable detects that the fiber length is relatively short, it could scale down the laser transmitter power or the DSP power consumption to save energy.

Takeaways

A versatile pluggable that can handle different use cases – data center links, long metro links, and dynamic management and orchestration layers – must have the ability to use different coding and error coding schemes and adapt to different network requirements. The DSP must be equally versatile and switch among several operating modes – 400ZR, 400ZR+, proprietary – and error correction methods – cFEC, oFEC, and proprietary. Together with a programmable optical system on chip, the DSP can not just add software corrections but also make optical hardware changes (output power, turn amplifiers on/off) to adapt to different noise scenarios. Through these adjustments, the next generation of pluggable transceivers will be able to handle all the telecom carrier and data center use cases we can throw at it.

Tags: acquisition, coherent, coherent communication systems, coherent optical module vendor, DSP, FEC, forward error correction, green, green transceivers, high vertical integration, independent coherent optical module vendor, Integrated Photonics, optical digital signal processing, optical engine, optical transceivers, photonic integration, Photonics, pluggables, Transceivers, tunable laser, tuneability

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