Addressing short reach 800G pluggable transceivers and active optical cables (AOCs) for mega-scale data-center buildouts by cloud and AI service providers, Coherent Corp. has unveiled its 100G PAM4 vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and photodiode (PD) arrays. These devices provider lower energy consumption per bit, which is important for the future sustainability of data centers.
(Source: Coherent)
With Coherent’s new eight-element VCSEL arrays, each VCSEL can be modulated at 100 Gbits/s using a four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) format. The arrays enable 800 Gbits/s transmission in short-reach transceivers and AOCs and can be paired with the company’s new 100 Gbits/s PAM4 high-speed PD arrays.
According to Dr. Karlheinz Gulde senior vice president, at Coherent’s Laser Components and Subsystems Business Unit, the high-speed datacom VCSELs are among the few that are commercially available and the only ones to be manufactured on a vertically integrated 6-inch gallium arsenide technology platform.
A VCSEL is a semiconductor-based laser diode emitting a highly efficient optical beam vertically from its top surface versus edge emitting lasers (EELs) that emit light from the side. In addition to data centers, VCSEL technology enables next-generation applications such as 3D facial recognition, augmented reality, automotive in-cabin sensing and machine vision for autonomous vehicles and robotics.
The 100G PAM4 VCSEL arrays are currently available at 850 nm, 880 nm, 910 nm and 940 nm for a variety of applications, including bidirectional operation on one fiber to minimize datacenter cabling costs.
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