Feb 25 2008
NEC Corporation today announced that it will launch samples of the world's smallest 10Gbps 4-channel parallel fiber optic transceiver. Consisting of high-speed laser diodes, photo diodes and high-speed transmitter/receiver LSIs integrated in compact housing of 14x14x4.7mm, the new transceiver operates on 10Gbps per channel for the next-generation of high-throughput interconnection systems.
Optical interconnection technology is regarded as one of most important technologies for realization of next-generation, high-speed, high-capacity servers, storage, and communication systems. Fiber optic transceivers can break the throughput limitation in conventional electrical or single-channel fiber-optic interconnections commonly used in current data and communication systems. Recent server, storage and communication systems require, throughput in the Tbps range, and throughput as high as several hundred Gbps has been required for card-to-card and rack-to-rack interconnections for these systems. Single-channel optical transceivers such as XFP and SFP are commonly used in high-speed systems. However, these transceivers are insufficient for the optical interconnection of systems, as these systems require multiple connections from card-to-card and rack-to-rack due to the large package dimension.
NEC boasts a strong portfolio of innovative technology for optical transceivers, including waveform compensation technique, optical semiconductors, high-speed analog LSIs and high density packaging. These technologies have enabled development of sample 10Gbps 4-channel parallel fiber optic transceivers, which will be shipped from April 2008. NEC aims to ship one million units of the optical transceivers from 2010 to 2012 following full-scale deployment of next generation systems.
Features of the new transceiver
1. Extremely compact with dimensions of 14x14x4.7mm the new transceiver has achieved a volume that is 1/10 that of conventional XFP transceivers, while supporting the same transmission capacity. Due to its small size, the transceiver can be installed next to high-speed CPUs and peripheral ICs.
2. Extremely low power consumption below 1W (250mW/channel).
3. A new detachable optical connector that was developed in collaboration with Fujikura Ltd. turns the input/output light signal direction perpendicular to the laser array and PIN-PD array.
NEC will carry out a live demonstration of the 10Gbps 4-channel parallel fiber optic transceiver at NEC FiberOptech's booth (#3431) at OFC/NFOEC 2008 -- The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition and the National Fiber Optic Engineers conference -- that will be held in San Diego, CA, USA from February 26 to February 28.