Coherent and Keysight collaborate on 200G/lane multimode VCSEL tech
Keysight Technologies and Coherent have collaborated on a 200G multimode technology demonstration that will be shown for the first time at OFC, in San Francisco, California 1st to 3rd April 2025.
The cost of optical interconnects is an ever-growing portion of the Capex of the data centre, while the power consumption of the optical interconnects is an ever-growing portion of Opex. By providing higher data transfer rates 200G per lane VCSEL technology will enable the industry to deliver AI/Machine learning services while reducing power consumption and capital expense of short-reach data interconnects, according to Coherent.
200G multimode VCSELs offer many benefits compared to single-mode transmission including increased bandwidth; significantly lower power-per-bit relative to single-mode alternatives; and cost efficiency providing lower capital outlay for short-reach data links.
In addition, AI pods and clusters require many high-speed, short-reach interconnects to share data amongst GPUs, aligning well with the strength of 200G multimode VCSELs.
The 200G multimode demonstration consists of Keysight’s new wideband multimode sampling oscilloscope, Keysight’s M8199B 256 GSa/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) and Coherent’s 200G multimode VCSEL. The M8199B AWG drives a 106.25 GBaud PAM4 electrical signal into the Coherent VCSEL, and the PAM4 optical signal output from the VCSEL is measured on wideband multimode scope displaying the eye diagram.
Joachim Peerlings, VP and general manager of Keysight’s Network and Data centre Solutions Group, said: “We are pleased with the progress the industry is making in bringing 200G multimode technology to market. Our close collaboration with Coherent enabled another milestone in high-speed connectivity. The industry will benefit from a more efficient and cost-effective technology to address their business-critical AI/ML infrastructure deployment in the data centre.”
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