Market Adoption and Use Case Expansion
Coherent pluggables have seen remarkable market adoption, with 400G ZR/ZR+ coherent optics becoming the most widely adopted coherent technology in history. While some in the industry predicted early on that 400ZR pluggables would only be a small portion of the coherent market, Acacia has been laser focused on bringing these solutions to its customers to deliver the architectural change needed to transform networks to meet ever-growing bandwidth demands. As a result, Acacia is a market leader in shipments of 400G+ coherent pluggables.

During 2024, Acacia expanded this market-leading portfolio with the introduction of 800ZR and 800G ZR+ pluggables with Interoperable PCS in QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors. These solutions have already been proven in field trials, with Colt being the first provider to successfully trial enhanced performance 800G ZR+ coherent pluggable optics. These 800G router-based optics provide the capability to double Colt’s packet core capacity per link while reducing power per bit by 33.3%.

Acacia also introduced a 400G Ultra Long Haul QSFP-DD module for expanding 400G applications from DCI/metro to long haul applications. The 400G UHL has been proven in field trials, with Arelion announcing that it completed a live network field trial on its route from Chicago to Denver that demonstrated successful IP transmission at a spectrum of 112.5 gigahertz over 2,253 kilometers, with healthy margins, providing longer transmission distances and greater cost savings than currently deployed transponders. Acacia’s 400G ULH pluggables enable Arelion to reduce CAPEX by 35 percent and OPEX costs by 84 percent when expanding its network, providing wider reach with high capacities that support customers’ AI/ML and cloud applications.

The Terabit Era is Going Strong
According to Cignal AI, in 2025, 1.2T+ performance optimized solutions will contribute significantly to bandwidth growth as those solutions continue to be introduced. Acacia’s 1.2T Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8), powered by the Jannu DSP, has proven its outstanding performance with multiple record-breaking field trials across Metro, Long Haul and Subsea with Microsoft, Verizon, Windstream, and others. Acacia is also engaged with multiple webscale customers and expects CIM 8 to continue its ramp in 2025.

Looking Ahead…..Artificial Intelligence, 1600ZR/ZR+ and More!
AI certainly was a hot topic during OFC and ECOC in 2024 and Acacia believes it will continue to be in 2025. While a year ago, the industry was focused on single-site AI clusters, we will begin to hear more about methods for distributing AI training over different locations in 2025. And while there is still a lot of work to happen in this area, the optics industry is well positioned to be at the forefront of this evolution since higher speed optical interconnections will be necessary to mitigate bandwidth constraints within an AI networks. Read this recent blog for more information on future proofing your network for AI.

Router-based Coherent Optics
The proliferation of router-based coherent optics is paving the way to a converged IP+Optical network architecture. The benefits in 2024 were clear. Infrastructure provider Colt Technology Services reported a stunning 97% energy savings, and Arelion saved 64% in CapEx and 76% in OpEx. In 2025, we can expect to see more providers leveraging this architecture to achieve increased capacity, reduced energy consumption, and lowered network costs, complexity, and footprint.

1600ZR and 1600ZR+ Standards Agreement
The OIF launched efforts last year on 1.6T coherent optical interconnect solutions and is making progress towards interoperable 1600ZR and 1600ZR+ implementation agreements.  In 2025, the industry will be looking at ways to advance this migration using advanced technologies for high baud rate modulation and smaller CMOS nodes.

Looking to the Future
Acacia is looking forward to another year of industry-wide innovation. Helping to solve some of our customers’ most challenging problems has been part of our DNA since Acacia was founded in 2009 and as you can see from this historic timeline, we have continued to set new benchmarks for performance and efficiency. These innovations are not only addressing the current demands of high capacity networks, but are also paving the way for future growth and scalability. Key to this success has been listening to our customers and designing the products and features that they need to be successful. We look forward to continuing that tradition.

Below is a summary of where you can see Acacia speaking and showcasing its technology at the show.

Acacia Experts Discuss the Latest Trends and Technologies

Sunday, March 24^th

Are Coherent Transceivers About to Experience a Bandwidth Crunch?
Speaker: Long Chen
Time: 1:00 – 3:30 pm
Where: Room 6E

Coherent Optics for Next Generation 100G/200G PON: Single-Carrier or Multi-Carrier?
Speaker: Tom Williams
Time: 400 – 6:30 pm
Where: Room 6E

Monday, March 25^th

Executive Forum at OFC 2024
Status of Photonic-enabled Modules and Interconnects
Speaker: Tom Williams
Time: 10:45 – 12:00 pm
Where: Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel

Tuesday, March 26^th

Data Center Summit Panel II: Lowering Power Consumption in Optical Solutions
Organizer: Tom Williams
Time: 2:15 – 3:45 pm
Where: Theater II

Wednesday, March 27^th

CableLabs: Empowering Access Networks with Coherent Optics
Speaker: Tom Williams
Time: 11:30 – 12:30 pm
Where: Theater II

Coherent Optics Unleashed: From 400ZR Success to 800ZR/LR Advancements and 1600ZR Kick-off
Speaker: Tom Williams
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Where: Theater I

10 Years of Coherent DWDM Pluggables: Past, Present and Future 
Speaker: Christian Rasmussen
Time:  3:00 – 4:00 pm
Where: 3E

Acacia Accepted Papers

M3I. Transmission Optimization
Title: Optical Network Design with High Symbol Rate Flexible Coherent
Transceivers
Acacia Authors: Philippe Jennevé, Valeria Arlunno
Date/Time: Monday, March 25, 2024; 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Where: Room 7

W3H. Large Capacity Interconnect
Title: Real-Time 1.2Tb/s Large Capacity DCI Transmission
Acacia Authors: Hongbin Zhang, Shaoliang Zhang, Timo Pfau, Ahmed Awadalla, Mehmet Aydinlik, Jonas Geyer
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 27, 2024; 3:00 pm– 3:15 pm
Where: Room 6F

OIF Interoperability Participation

OIF Interoperability Demo, Booth #1323 – Featuring breakthrough solutions in speed, power and density to meet the growing demands of next-generation data center networking, AI/ML and disaggregation applications. Don’t miss interoperability demonstrations using Acacia’s QSFP-DD 400ZR and Bright 400ZR+ modules (including OpenROADM/ITU-T mode transmission), as well as multi-vendor management demonstrations through Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS).

Meet with Acacia at OFC
If you are attending the show, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Click here to request a meeting.  We hope to see you in San Diego!

To date, multiple system vendors have converged around Class 3-based solutions (Figure 1), recently announcing their next generation offerings. This industry convergence creates the benefit of economies of scale and broad industry investments into the technology used in this baud rate class, the same class being used for 800G MSA pluggable solutions.

Figure 1.  Acacia and other coherent vendors have announced Class 3 Terabit Era solutions.

Advancements Resulting in 65% Power-per-Bit Savings Over Current Competing Solutions
Doubling the baud rate from Class 2 to Class 3 in silicon was a significant engineering achievement, combining design advancements in high-speed Radio Frequency (RF) and Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) components plus well-designed co-packaging integration of silicon and silicon photonic (SiPh) components. These achievements led to Acacia’s successful 140Gbaud in-house capability that is being leveraged in the commercially available CIM 8 solution.

With high-volume shipments of multiple coherent Class 2 module products utilizing Acacia’s 3D Siliconization, this proven co-packaging integration solution provided the foundation for extending this capability to Class 3 140Gbaud implementation utilized in the CIM 8 (Figure 2). 3D Siliconization maximizes signal integrity by co-packaging all high-speed components including the coherent Digital Signal Processor (DSP) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), transmitter and receiver silicon photonics, and 3D stacked RF components into a single device that is manufactured in a standard electronics packaging house. Silicon technology has demonstrated cost and power advantages over alternative technologies, making it the material system of choice for these higher baud rates. These advancements enabling a doubling of the baud rate have led to a 65% power-per-bit savings of CIM 8 over current competing solutions that utilize alternative optical material systems. In addition, the size and power savings of this latest generation enabled the ability to house this 1.2T 140Gbaud solution in a pluggable form-factor.

Figure 2.  An example of 3D Siliconization used in the CIM 8 module, resulting in a volume electronics manufacturable high-speed single device larger than a quarter.

2^nd Generation 3D Shaping Advances Coherent Performance
The CIM 8 is powered by Jannu, Acacia’s 8^th generation coherent DSP ASIC. The design greatly expands on the success of the Pico DSP ASIC predecessor used in the widely deployed performance-optimized Class 2 AC1200 module (Figure 1). The AC1200 was the first module to introduce 3D Shaping, which provided finely tunable Adaptive Baud Rate up to 70Gbaud as well as finely tunable modulation up to 6 bits/symbol. The AC1200 had achieved record breaking spectral efficiency at the time of its introduction, as evidenced by a subsea trial over the MAREA submarine cable connecting Virginia Beach, Virginia to the city of Bilbao in Spain. Finely tunable baud rate helps maximize spectral efficiency in any given passband channel, converting excess margin into additional capacity/reach, and avoids wasted bandwidth due to network fragmentation.

Figure 3.  A popular feature is the fine-tunability of baud rate introduced by Acacia with the Class 2 AC1200; CIM 8 incorporates the same Adaptive Baud feature (as part of 2^nd Generation 3D Shaping) for Class 3 baud rate tunability.

The 5nm Jannu DSP ASIC in CIM 8 intelligently optimizes optical transmission using 2^nd Generation 3D Shaping with an increased Adaptive Baud Rate tunable range up to 140Gbaud, as well as finely tunable modulation up to 6 bits/symbol using enhanced Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS). With 2^nd Generation 3D Shaping, the CIM 8 module can achieve a 20% improvement in spectral efficiency.

Terabit Era Solutions Provide Full Network Coverage
Class 3 technology not only ushers in the terabit era, but also enables full multi-haul network coverage as the high baud rate capabilities transport nx400GbE client traffic across a service provider’s entire network. Full network coverage is not only enabled by adjustment of the modulation, but also implies the capability to optimize for various network conditions which include overcoming transmission impairments.

Figure 4. CIM 8 1.2T, 1T, 800G, and 400G transmission constellations operating at Class 3 baud rates providing wide network coverage addressing multiple applications.

CIM 8 offers significant power-per-bit reductions as well as cost efficiencies for various optical network transport applications.

DCI/Metro Reaches
For transporting 3x400GbE or 12x100GbE client traffic with metro reaches in a single carrier, the CIM 8 is tuned to ~6 bits/symbol (equivalent to 64QAM, example constellation on left). Data center interconnect (DCI) applications would take advantage of this high-capacity 1.2T transport capability to tie data center locations together. This amounts to 38.4T per C-band fiber capacity.

Long-Haul Reaches

For transporting 2x400GbE with long-haul reaches, the CIM 8 is tuned to ~4 bits/symbol (equivalent to 16QAM, example constellation on the right). Wide 800G network coverage is achieved with the Class 3 140Gbaud capabilities enabling service providers to provide end-to-end 2x400GbE, 8x100GbE, or native 800GbE transport across their networks, covering essentially all terrestrial applications.

Ultra-Long-Haul/Subsea Reaches

And for ultra-long-haul/subsea reaches, the CIM 8 is tuned to ~2 bits/symbol (equivalent to QPSK, example constellation on the left). As with the previous scenarios, spectral efficiency with a wavelength channel is optimized by fine-tuning of the baud rate. These high spectrally efficient modes can carry mixed 100GbE and 400GbE traffic over the longest subsea routes in the world with lowest cost per bit. It’s worth noting that almost a decade ago, Acacia demonstrated SiPh capabilities for subsea coherent deployments. CIM 8 incorporates second generation non-linear equalization (NLEQ) capabilities to mitigate the non-linear effects of optical transmission especially for these ultra-long-haul/subsea links providing additional OSNR.

In all the above scenarios, the CIM 8 utilizes advanced power-efficient algorithms to compensate for chromatic and polarization dependent dispersion. In addition, the module accounts for coverage of aerial fiber network segments that require fast state-of-polarization (SOP) tracking and recovery due to lightning strikes. The SOP tracking speed of CIM 8 is double the speed of its predecessor. This fast SOP tracking feature can also be utilized for sensing applications.

Network Operators Achieve Record Breaking Field Trials with CIM 8
CIM 8 capabilities have already been put to the test as illustrated by multiple record breaking field trials across a wide range of applications. These include >5600km 400G transmission over a mobile carrier’s backbone network, 2200km 800G transmission over a research and education network, and >540km 1T transmission over a wholesale carrier’s network.

Acacia continues to demonstrate its technology leadership by leveraging mature knowledge in proven silicon-based coherent technology, producing the first shipping coherent solution to lead the industry into the Terabit Era with the 1.2T pluggable CIM 8 module. With the breakthrough capability of 140Gbaud transmission along with the advanced Jannu DSP ASIC using 2^nd Gen 3D Shaping and leveraging 3D Siliconization, network operators can support full network coverage for multi-haul applications, especially to support growing demands for nx400GbE and upcoming 800GbE traffic.

References:
Blog: Terabit Today: Maximize Network Coverage
Blog: How Industry Trends are Driving Coherent Technology Classifications
Blog Series: The Road Ahead for Next-Generation Multi-Haul Designs Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Arelion Achieves 64% CAPEX and 76% OPEX Savings Enabled by Bright 400ZR+ Deployment

In August 2023, Arelion announced that it has taken another landmark step in converging its IP and optical layers as the first global network to deploy 400G QSFP-DD ZR+ Bright coherent optical modules in its production #1 ranked IP backbone. This first regional reach deployment spans 675 kilometers between Stockholm and Copenhagen over third-party Optical Open Line System (O-OLS). According to Arelion, the streamlined architecture eliminates the need for excessive hardware, thereby reducing potential points of failure. As a result, it achieves 64% CAPEX and 76% OPEX savings. This contributes to a significantly more cost-efficient network with fewer interfaces to control and maintain.

Highlighting the benefits of these modules, Arelion’s Mattias Fridström shares his insights in this video from testing the technology to how they can potentially transform network infrastructures.

Mattias Fridström, Vice President & Chief Evangelist at Arelion shares the benefits of deploying Acacia’s 400G QSFP-DD Bright Optical Modules in Arelion’s production IP backbone

Dariusz Solowiej, VP Network Technology & Customer Operations at Arelion added, “With constantly rising demand for our IP services and increasing traffic across the Internet, Arelion is constantly looking to deploy the latest technology. The deployment of 400G QSFP-DD Bright Optical Modules will ensure cost-effective, high-performance connectivity for our customers and help us grow our network in scale as we continue to connect the world. In addition, the coherent pluggable modules also help us achieve our sustainability goals through improved energy efficiency and redeploying redundant hardware assets.”

CENIC Validates Coherent Pluggable Optics for Big Data Applications
Using Bright QSFP-DD coherent optics, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) turned up a 300 Gbps optical service over CENIC’s production line system between Los Angeles and Sunnyvale and confirmed the error-free performance of the service with a comfortable operating margin.

According to CENIC, the new-generation coherent pluggables integrate an amplifier, making it possible to transmit from the optic at power levels that match those of typical transponder line cards. As a result, external amplification is no longer needed to boost the power level transmitted from the optic before it reaches the optical line system.  As explained by Sana Bellamine, CENIC’s Director of Regional and International Infrastructure, “The elimination of the external amplification requirement is an important step toward simplifying the provisioning of optical services and facilitates the adoption of coherent pluggables over our production line system.”

CENIC Validation Setup Diagram with Bright ZR+ Coherent Pluggables with Integrated Amplifiers

Announced earlier this year, Vodafone Turkey and Sipartech trials are summarized in this article.

Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD Modules Expands Applications by Enabling Longer Reach Applications
With an optical transmit power at least 10X greater than 400ZR, Bright QSFP-DD modules enable network operators to expand applications that can be addressed by 400G coherent pluggables in router-based optical deployments to include brownfield and greenfield metro/regional networks with reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) nodes.

Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD modules expand applications of 400G coherent pluggable to brownfield and greenfield metro/regional networks with ROADM nodes.

Visit Us at ECOC OIF 400ZR+ Interop Demonstration
If you are attending ECOC and want to see the Acacia Bright ZR+ coherent module in action, check out the 400ZR+ optics interoperability demonstration at the OIF Booth #304.  We hope you see you there!

Additional Resources

• Blog: Brightening ROADM Networks
• Product Page: Bright 400ZR+ coherent pluggable QSFP-DD module

400G Pluggables and Terabit Era Optics
The 400G coherent pluggable market has been the fastest growing coherent technology to date and, according to CignalAI, as of 2022, Acacia’s comprehensive 400G ZR/ZR+ portfolio is leading the market with 60% market share.

Acacia’s  Bright 400ZR+ QSFP-DD pluggable coherent optical module with high-transmit power is in high demand with a steady stream of trials and deployments. Leading up to ECOC, we saw Bright deployments announced from Arelion and the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) and earlier this year, Vodafone Turkey and Sipartech announced their own Bright field trials.

While pluggables or router-based DCOs (Digital Coherent Optics) are becoming popular for requirements in DCI, metro and some long-haul applications, transponder-based coherent solutions are still being used for long-haul, ultra-long haul and subsea. Acacia’s performance optimized multi-haul coherent solutions have proven to be extremely effective for these applications. Our single carrier pluggable 1.2T Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8), shipping since late 2022, is leading the industry into the Terabit Era. To date, we have seen record-breaking CIM 8 field trial announcements from Nysernet, China Mobile and Windstream Wholesale.  The CIM 8 enables these network operators to achieve the highest capacity and reach today while maximizing transmission data rate across a wide range of multi-haul network applications.

Defining the Path to 800G Pluggables
Following the explosive growth of 400G pluggables, next-generation switch/router ASICs are being introduced with 800G I/O port speeds, creating the need for 800G optical interfaces for DCI. Like the 400G MSA pluggable cycle, multiple standardization bodies such as OIF, Open ROADM and the IEEE are working in parallel to provide industry standards for 800G optical transmission and 800 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), helping to foster economies of scale. While module vendors are introducing the required technologies to enable low power 120+Gbaud solutions that would fit into small form-factor modules such as QSFP-DD and OSFP.

To meet customer needs and drive future adoption, it’s important for 800G coherent MSA pluggables to have several key features and capabilities including optical transmission, client traffic, low power consumption, and interoperable module management.  We believe the key functional requirements that operators are looking for to make this transition include:

• Support for OIF 800ZR and high-performance interoperable Probabilistic Constellation Shaping (PCS) modes
• Multi-haul capable
• High transmit (Tx) optical power option
• 800GbE client traffic support
• Multiplexing lower speed 100/200/400GbE electrical client traffic
• Low power consumption
• Coherent Common Management Interface Specification (C-CMIS) compliance

With the first 800G pluggable deployments expected in 2024, these future solutions can plug directly into switch/router ports to further drive adoption of IP-over-DWDM router-based optical network architectures.

Coherent Interoperability Participation:  OIF and OpenZR+ MSA
Continuing its commitment to building an industry-wide ecosystem, Acacia is excited to be participating in the OIF’s largest-ever multi-vendor interoperability event in booth #304 at ECOC. Come see our participation in the 400ZR+ optics and Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) implementations interoperability demonstrations.

In addition, Acacia has continued to play a key role as a member of the OpenZR+ Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) Group. Leading up to ECOC, the group announced that it had published the OpenZR+ Rev 3.0 specification, which defines a higher performing 400G 8QAM mode as well as a higher transmit power mode. This new specification is designed to further expand the application space for OpenZR+ with new modes that can address longer reaches and a wider range of network architectures.

Come See Us!
If you are attending the show and want to connect, we’d welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Click here to set up a meeting. We hope to see you in Scotland.

At the same time, network operators are adopting higher speed interfaces.  Since last year’s conference, we’ve continued to see the aggressive ramp of 400 Gigabits per second (G) pluggables as they’ve made their way into new markets and applications. While coherent pluggables have been migrating towards shorter reaches for quite some time, customers are now increasingly interested in using them for long-haul applications traditionally serviced by embedded coherent modules.  While the high-performance embedded market continues to be strong today, we expect the trend towards pluggables to continue in the future as service providers take advantage of their low power, small size and performance wherever they can.  Standards bodies are looking to define both 800G and higher performing 400G interop modes for next generation MSA pluggable optics.

Coherent pluggable ports are expected to exceed embedded ports in 2023.

 Acacia had the honor of participating in 13 sessions and 2 interoperability demonstrations at this year’s OFC.  Below is a recap of three of the sessions presented in the Market Watch Theater that reinforce the trends toward higher speed interfaces and expected transition from embedded modules to pluggables including industry standardization advancements.

OIF Panel: Defining 800ZR and 800LR; An OIF Update

Tom Williams, Acacia’s Sr. Director, Technical Marketing, gave an Optical Interoperability Forum (OIF) update on 800ZR and 800LR standardization progress. Tom highlighted the rapid success that has been achieved with 400G pluggables and what’s happening next in the standards bodies.

400G Developments Continue
The 400G developments continue in three areas.  The first is ongoing deployments of high transmit power 400G ZR+ QSFP-DD pluggables that support OpenZR+ and Open ROADM modes.  These modules expand the use cases for 400G QSFP-DD pluggables to metro and regional ROADM networks and enable increased transponder density in transport equipment. The second is 400G ER1 which targets 40km point-to-point applications.  The third area is standardization and development of 400G long-haul.

400G developments continue with high TX power 400G ZR+, 400G ER1, and 400G long haul pluggable modules.

800G Standardization in Progress
The current focus of standardization is on 800LR/ZR and Open ROADM products. Network operators are looking for higher baud rate pluggables to take advantage of improvements in cost and power. Increasing baud rates has become an efficient way to enable more cost-effective optical networks by reducing the number of optics needed to support a given transmission capacity.

Focusing next on 800ZR standardization, Tom highlighted how these considerations are like 400ZR, but different. While 800ZR has the potential for more varied use cases depending on the network operator, some are waiting for 1.6T solutions. The key assumptions are that 800ZR will include 16QAM modulation at 118Gbaud, which is double the 400ZR baud rate.  On the receiver side, Open Forward Error Correction, or oFEC, has been selected for improved Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR) sensitivity and the minimum input power is higher at 118Gbaud. On the transmitter side, there is recognition that the 400G market now includes both amplified and unamplified configurations and co-existence with 400ZR on the same line system requires 3dB higher transmit power for 800ZR.  Tom also highlighted three different transmitter power ranges that have been proposed with each option having use cases that bring value to the market.  These include:

• -11 to -14dBm: Lowest Cost
• -7 to -11dBm: Co-exist with 400ZR
• 0 to -7dBm: Co-exist with traditional DWDM

800G and Beyond Pluggable Coherent – Building on the Success of 400G

Torben Nielsen, Acacia’s Product Line Manager, Pluggable Modules and Distinguished Engineer, also kicked off his presentation by highlighting the 400ZR/ZR+ success story. As the fastest ramping coherent technology to date, these modules benefitted greatly from the work done early on with industry standards.

400G pluggables have been the fastest ramping coherent technology to date.

 Standardization and Vendor Interoperability
Standardization of optical networking technology helps network operators by providing simplicity, interoperability and volume-driven cost. Torben explained that, in the 400G pluggable market, standardization started with 400ZR and quickly evolved as carriers demanded higher performance. This led to the creation of both the Open ROADM and OpenZR+ MSAs.  As a result, today we are seeing 400G pluggables being used across a wide range of applications, using the same component technology throughout each form factor.

The 400ZR/ZR+ success story was enabled in part by standardization and interoperability resulting in 400G pluggables being used across a wide range of applications.  

Torben also discussed how 400ZR/ZR+ leveraged advancements in co-packaging and how these developments are now being extended to future product development using the same common platform that leverages silicon photonics. For example, the same packaging technology that Acacia used in its highly successful 400G pluggable products is now being utilized in its CIM 8 module, which is enabling a pluggable performance optimized solution operating up to 140Gbaud. Acacia will continue leveraging this same approach for future generations such as 800G and 1.6T modules.

800G Coherent Pluggables
Torben next shared how the industry is already looking ahead to 800G pluggables, with first deployments expected in 2024. Currently, 800ZR/LR is being defined in OIF, as Tom shared in his OIF update, with 118Gbaud 16QAM modulation. 800ZR+ will need standardized media interface specification which will likely be 131Gbaud PCS modulation.  Acacia’s silicon photonics can support all transmission rates proposed for both 800ZR and 800ZR+. The high transmit power version can be supported similar to the 400G Bright ZR+ high transmit (TX) power pluggable module.

800G will likely come in ZR, ZR+, and LR versions.

1.6T Coherent Pluggables
In terms of 1.6 coherent pluggables, Torben suggested they are likely needed in the 2025 timeframe or later. He believes 240Gbaud single carrier pluggable is feasible and can have the best potential cost structure with fewer optical components than multi-carrier approaches. There are several engineering challenges to overcome when developing these products including signal integrity, power and thermal design, but the industry has a great track record when it comes to overcoming these challenges.

1.6T coherent pluggables are expected to emerge in the 2025+ timeframe and much work is yet to be done for that to happen.

Market Watch Panel IV: Performance-Centric Long Haul

Anuj Malik, Acacia’s Director, Product Management & Strategy, gave an overview of performance-centric coherent modules. The primary goal of these modules has been to help reduce CapEx and OpEx for network operators. Transceiver cost per bit and number of regenerations are the key CapEx drivers.  Power, footprint and manageability are the key OpEx drivers.

Key to these solutions has been the development of features such as probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS), adaptive baud rate, and advanced compensation algorithms. These technology innovations give service providers unprecedented transmission flexibility to match their network’s architecture, optimize fiber utilization, and simplify deployment.

Performance-centric solutions leverage key technology innovations that provide “knobs” for dialing in performance. 

Anuj also discussed the implications of approaching the Shannon limit, where spectral efficiency gains are only incremental. The focus has been on reducing cost, power and footprint. This will require doubling the baud rate with every generation, designing efficient network architectures and leveraging the benefits of silicon photonics and advanced packaging techniques that can be leveraged across multiple generations of products.

The path to creating cost and power efficient coherent transceivers includes significant increases in capacity and density while reducing power, continued integration, and packaging techniques.

As mentioned earlier, these “terabit era” products were highlighted at this year’s OFC, led by Acacia’s CIM 8 module, with field trials having been announced by China Mobile, NYSERNet and Windstream Wholesale. By leveraging common development approaches with the 400G pluggable modules and Acacia’s proprietary DSP algorithms, the operational benefits of pluggability were brought to the performance-centric multi-haul market segment.  Acacia believes the industry may continue migrating performance-centric towards pluggable modules to take advantage of high performance and power efficiency. This may include the development of high performance 400G long haul pluggables and 800ZR+ with up to 131Gbaud.

Below is a recap of each speaker’s presentation. You can also watch the replay by registering at this link.

400ZR Evolution:  Not Just for DCI Use Cases Anymore
Sterling explained how 400ZR is a specific technology standard and implementation agreement that was defined by OIF after many years in the making. The key goals were interoperability and reducing power, size and cost in order to fit coherent optics inside client-sized routers and switches. Initial buyers were the large hyperscalers, which was key for driving volume. However, the technology has quickly evolved to also address the requirements of communication service providers (CSPs) who have much broader needs beyond point-to-point connectivity.

Figure 1:  Initially addressing volume hyperscalers, pluggables now meet the diverse needs of CSPs.

400G Pluggables Leverage the Same Component Technology Across Many Applications
Looking back to the original DCI use case, Tom Williams, Sr. Director of Marketing for Acacia, recounted how the industry was able to capitalize on an opportunity to bring the power of coherent into the same form factor as client optics. The key was finding the “sweet” spot in terms of the performance needed to cover a large number of applications. “Fortunately, the work on standardization was started early enough so vendors could start developing them and hit the market at just the right time,” he said.

Figure 2:  Industry standardization efforts drove expansion of 400G pluggable use cases.

As a result, today we are seeing 400G pluggables being used across a wide range of applications, leveraging the same component technology throughout each form factor. This has allowed coherent pluggables to expand from the original DCI use case and into service provider networks such as point-to-point, ROADM, campus, enterprise, and even space.

Figure 3:  Acacia’s comprehensive 400G pluggable portfolio addresses a wide range of hyperscale and service provider applications.

400G Pluggables are Powering Comcast’s Core and Access Networks
Venk Mutalik, Fellow at Comcast, started his presentation by giving a brief overview of the Comcast network. While they have a very large core metro footprint, their access network has 3X the fiber mileage compared to the core, making it a very rich fiber environment. Today, 400G pluggables are in the core and the metro and they expect them to become even more important in the future.

Figure 4:  Comcast deploys many different 400G pluggable form factors throughout its network

For Comcast’s access network, they view this as converged platform that can handle both business and residential services. It is the 100G Bi-Directional CFP-2 pluggable modules that are enabling Comcast to use the access footprint to provide these combined services on one single fiber.

Figure 5: 100G Bi-Directional CFP-2 pluggable modules enable Comcast to combine business and residential services on one single fiber.

Venk explained how Comcast has been able to launch coherent optics in the access domain and it’s been very successful in multiple divisions. “As pluggables become more pervasive, Comcast needs optics to be pluggable, with a good mixture of 100G, 400G, Bi-Di, 400ZR+ and 0dBm pluggable modules,” he said. “Performance, power dissipation, and software automation will continue to be very important, and routers will also need to address the speed and latency requirements.” According to Venk, Comcast is excited about pluggables and is thankful the industry has gotten them to the point where they enable the system to be simpler and more reliable.

Colt Sees 69% Capex Savings and 2X Reduction in Rack Space and Power Consumption
According to Bart Janssens, Senior Specialist Packet Network Architect at Colt Technology Services, 400G pluggables have become a vital piece of Colt’s next-generation packet networks. The company is a business-only infrastructure provider and when they look at their customer requirements, the main trend they see is the need to consume traditional cloud services on demand without limitations on the bandwidth they are consuming between end points.

Figure 6: Colt’s business customers want traditional cloud services on demand without limitations on the bandwidth

To meet these needs for performance and flexibility, Colt moved the traditional Provider/Provider Edge (P/PE) to the edge and then looked for the right technology to put at the center of its core. The solution they chose was Cisco’s Silicon One 8201, which gave them many QSFP-DD ports for 400G coherent pluggables. That allowed Colt to use a fraction of the rack space and power consumption at a much lower cost to build 35.4X more capacity per 1RU. This resulted in a core network using IPoDWDM 400G ZR+ between core routers. Colt then added the same layer in the metro, allowing them to aggregate 100G and 400G to the key data centers using 400G ER1/ZR (Acacia’s Bright 400ZR+)/LR4 DCI. And this year, they expect to extend this concept further to access routers moving to 400G.

According to Bart, 400G pluggables are driving growth in the future expansion they are doing, and he detailed some real-world use cases in Europe using LR, LR4 and ZR+. Colt has been able to improve their core transport costs by 69 percent capex, while at the same time helping the environment by removing rack space and power consumption by double digits. As Bart said in his closing remarks “What is really amazing is the transition of capex spending.  While in the past, the initial spend was on expensive routers, it’s the opposite today. We can just plug in more pluggables and scale our network to meet the never-ending customer growth.”

Watch the replay
Click here to register for the webinar which will give you access to the replay. You can read more about Acacia’s coherent pluggable portfolio here.  If you have any follow-up questions for any of the panelists, please feel free to reach out to us via this contact form.

Welcome to the Terabit Era!
Customer interest has been strong for high-performance multi-haul modules, such as Acacia’s single optical carrier 1.2T Coherent Interconnect Module 8 that is now shipping and currently in Tier 1 carrier network field trials. We expect 120+ Gbaud coherent technology to be a hot topic at the show. Get up to speed on this new technology’s cost and performance benefits beforehand by attending this Webinar on Thursday, February 23 titled, Terabit Coherent Optics – Maximizing Network Performance with 1.2 Terabit Coherent Optics.

Coherent Interoperability Participation
Continuing its commitment to building an industry-wide ecosystem, Acacia will be participating in the following interoperability events at OFC.

• OIF Interoperability Demo, Booth #5101 – This is OIF’s largest-ever multi-vendor interoperability demonstration of the critical solutions accelerating implementation of next-generation capabilities. It will feature four fundamental technology areas – 400ZR optics; co-packaging architectures; common electronical I/O (CEI) channels; and common management interface specification (CMIS) implementations. Acacia will participate in the 400ZR optics demonstration.
• OFCnet, Booth #5917 – OFC’s high-speed optical network, OFCnet, will enable select demonstrations of networking products, solutions and architectures. This live network will showcase emerging technologies including quantum networking, network element interoperability, SDN and programmability, and networking for big data/big science applications. Acacia will demonstrate OpenZR+ interoperability via a link from the Coherent QSFP-DD module to Acacia’s Bright 400G ZR+ module over an ADVA open line system.

Speaking Sessions
Below is a summary of the sessions that Acacia experts will be participating in during OFC.

Sunday, March 5th

• Workshop: Smart Pluggable Coherent Optics: Is it the end of Layered IP over DWDM?
  Panelist: Fenghai Liu, Sr. Director, Product Management
  Date/Time: March 5, 1:00 – 3:30 am
  Where: Room 6C
• Workshop: Where are the Boundaries Between IM-DD and Coherent?
  Panelist: Hongbin Zhang, Principal Engineer
  Date/Time: March 5, 1:00 – 3:30 am
  Where: Room 8

Monday, March 6^th

• Track S1: Datacom Subsystems and Systems
  Presentation: Power Efficient Coherent Detection for Short-Reach
  Invited Speaker: Hongbin Zhang, Principal Engineer
  Date/Time:   March 6, 8:00 am
• Optica Executive Forum: Panel 1: Where and What is the Coherent Edge?
  Panelist: Tom Williams, Sr. Director, Technical Marketing
  Date/Time: March 6, 9:00 – 10:15 am
  Where: Hilton
• M3I: Monolithic or 3D Electro-Optical Integration
  Presider: Long Chen, Distinguished Engineer
  Date/Time:  March 6, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
  Where: Room 8
• Technical Conference/Panel: 6Tb/s+ Intra-DC Network
  Panelist: Mark Heimbuch, Principal Engineer
  Date/Time: March 6, 4:30 – 6:30 pm
  Where: Room 6C

Tuesday, March 7th

• Market Watch Panel I: State of the Industry
  Organizer: Tom Williams, Sr. Director, Technical Marketing
  Date/Time: March 7, 10:30 – 12:00 pm
  Where: Theater 1
• Market Watch Panel III: 800G / 128GBaud Pluggable Coherent – Key Technologies and Applications
  Speaker: Torben Nielsen, Sr. Director, Product Management
  Date/Time:  March 7, 2:00 – 3:30 pm
  Where: Theater 1
• Panel: LiDAR Systems and Technologies with Integrated Photonics
  Speaker: Long Chen, Distinguished Engineer
  Date/Time:  March 7, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
  Where:  Room 7AB

Wednesday, March 8th

• Exhibit Hall/Panel: OpenZR+ MSA – New Developments and Next Steps
  Moderator: Tom Williams, Sr. Director, Technical Marketing
  Date/Time: March 8, 11:45 – 12:45 pm
  Where: Theater 2
• Panel: Defining 800ZR and 800LR; An OIF Update
  Panelist: Tom Williams, Sr. Director, Technical Marketing
  Date/Time: March 8, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
  Where: Theater 2
• Market Watch Panel IV: Performance-Centric Long Haul
  Speaker: Anuj Malik, Director, Product Management & Strategy
  Date/Time: March 8, 2:45 – 4:15 pm
  Where: Theater 1
• Poster Session: 32-λ×400 Gb/s Single-Carrier 120-GBaud QPSK Coherent Transmission Over 3075-km G.652.D Fiber Link Using OE-MCM Prototype Under Field-Deployed Configuration (W2B.16)
  Acacia authors: Philippe Jennevé, Shaoliang Zhang, Miquel A. Mestre, Dayou Qian
  Date/Time:  March 8 & March 9, 10:30 – 12:30 pm

Meet with Acacia at OFC
If you are attending the show, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Click here to set up a meeting.  We hope to see you in San Diego!

At OFC 2022, there were several presenters discussing a new effort dubbed “coherent lite.” Roughly speaking, this term is used to convey a simplified implementation of coherent transmission for use in short reach campus and intra-DC applications. Compared to traditional transport DWDM applications, coherent lite removes unneeded features such as laser tunability and reduces complexity of impairment mitigation features such as dispersion compensation. Compared to alternative 800G and beyond solutions, coherent lite offers higher speed per wavelength, lower laser or fiber count, and better receiver sensitivity. By leveraging the continued trends of CMOS, the key components to build coherent-lite modules in a pluggable format are on par with alternative solutions with regards to power and size. The additional link budget available with a coherent implementation can be utilized to optimize the design for cost and power. These reasons make coherent lite a compelling solution for pluggable 800G and beyond in campus and intra-DC applications.

Figure 1.  Coherent solutions moving to shorter reaches as application data rates increase; pluggable modules leading the charge towards shorter reaches.

Coherent lite has been proposed for 800G campus network applications in both IEEE and the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), while some in the industry are already talking about coherent interfaces inside the data center at 1.6 Tbps. The OIF was the first to take action in this space, kicking off the 800LR project in late 2020 to pursue a solution for unamplified reaches of 2-10km using fixed wavelength coherent transmission. Hyperscale network operators are expected to be the first to adopt this technology due to their high bandwidth campus and intra-DC interconnect requirements. And as bandwidth demands increase to 1.6 Tbps intra-DC links, coherent lite solutions are expected to competitively address sub-2km reaches inside the data center.

Intra-Data Center Optical Interconnect Requirements

12.8Tbps Ethernet switches required 400G pluggable modules in QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors. 400ZR coherent optical transceivers, supporting these form factors, were developed for DCI edge network applications up to 120 km in reach. With switch capacity increasing to 25.6 Tbps, followed by 51.2 Tbps, optical transceivers are expected to migrate from 400 Gbps to 800 Gbps and then towards 1.6 Tbps speeds. Scaling the optical interconnect solutions to match these increasing port speeds can be challenging. While legacy-based intensity-modulated-direct-detect (IM-DD) solutions may continue to have a role for shorter intra-DC links at 800G, longer reach intra-DC applications benefit from coherent solutions. And at 1.6Tbps port speeds, coherent can become the preferred solution even for short intra-DC links.

Besides supporting growing port speeds, intra-DC optical interconnects at 800G and beyond are required to have low power consumption, high density, and support of high-volume deployments. To meet these requirements, modules can leverage advancements in low-power CMOS technology (which follows Moore’s Law), silicon photonics, and innovative packaging and integration solutions.

Another key intra-DC requirement is interoperability, which helps to drive broad industry adoption and higher volumes, thereby lowering supply chain risks for network operators. The importance of a robust supply chain has never been more important, and the higher volumes required for intra-DC applications make interoperability critical for coherent-lite adoption.

Coherent solutions have already proven capable of meeting these data center requirements of low power, high volume, and interoperability at 400G with the successful introduction of 400ZR modules. Coherent lite solutions are anticipated to chart a similar path for 800G and beyond.

Coherent Solutions for Intra-DC Applications

400G coherent pluggable transceiver solutions have proven that high-density, low-power coherent technology tailored to inter-data center switch/router interconnection applications are achievable. The industry has now embarked on a similar effort to bring to market cost-effective, high-volume coherent solutions optimized for campus and intra-DC applications.

Traditional intra-DC optical interconnects utilize IM-DD transmit/receive technology. Generational increases in link speed have required parallelization of fibers (e.g. 400G-DR4 using four fibers) or wavelengths (e.g., FR4 CWDM), as well advanced amplitude modulation schemes such as PAM4. While this aggregate approach has been successful to date, chromatic dispersion (CD) impairments begin to impact performance as the link speed requirement increases. Due to the square relationship between CD tolerance and the modulation baud rate, as you double each wavelength’s baud rate the CD tolerance is reduced by a factor of four. Alternatively, increasing the number of wavelengths pushes outer channels further from the fiber zero dispersion point resulting in having to mitigate this entire wavelength range to meet the link budget. Thus, even though the intra-DC distances are short, traditional IM-DD methods of increasing link capacity are expected to encounter challenges as intra-DC applications move to 800G and beyond.

Figure 2. IM-DD and Coherent proposed solutions to address 800LR applications.

Figure 2a illustrates a traditional IM-DD approach to address intra-DC and campus applications over a single-mode fiber pair, which for the 800G case multiple WDM lasers would be utilized to ensure sufficient link budget at this data rate.

IM-DD solutions are expected to be utilized for 800G intra-DC application reaches in the 2km range, while coherent technology would support 800G from 2km to 10km reaches. For optical platforms such as silicon photonics where a single laser’s power can be shared across multiple fibers, we expect the IM-DD solutions to remain attractive in those short, parallel fiber applications.

Coherent Lite Offers Cost-Optimized, Low Power Solution

In comparison to the IM-DD implementation, a coherent solution (Figure 2b) addressing the same 800LR link would achieve the target link budgets using one laser, and the improved sensitivity that is achieved using coherent detection. The laser capacity can be increased four-fold by utilizing the phase and polarization dimensions of light (I/Q modulation and polarization multiplexing). Using a single laser compared to four can result in cost and power improvements. In addition, the DSP in the coherent solution can mitigate dispersion effects as it would in a traditional transport solution but with a simpler implementation for a 2 to 10km reach.

Since intra-DC architectures do not need dense wavelength transmission in fiber, grey (fixed wavelength) lasers can be used, which greatly simplifies the design and reduces module cost.  Also, the extra available link budget due to higher receiver sensitivity can be used to lower the required laser power to reduce module power dissipation. In addition, coherent technology for high-capacity transport has traditionally required higher supplier capital expenditures on a per unit basis because of lower volume, more expensive test equipment required for the stringent specification requirements that drive the need for more comprehensive test coverage. Coherent lite intra-DC modules would be tested more like IM-DD client optics, resulting in substantial reduction in manufacturing capex with higher capacity.

These are some of the compelling reasons why the industry is looking toward coherent technology for shorter connections at 800G and beyond. Coherent lite 800LR pluggables can provide a competitive cost structure, while meeting campus and intra-DC requirements. This makes these solutions clear candidates for applications typically addressed by IM-DD solutions.

Opening the Doors to Coherent

400G coherent pluggable solutions have driven the momentum towards interoperable, high-volume solutions that are enabling coherent in campus and intra-DC applications at higher data rates, especially when utilizing a cost and power optimized coherent implementation. Compared to IM-DD, coherent offers a scalable path towards higher intra-DC data rates with more capacity per laser wavelength, higher receiver sensitivity, and digital equalization of impairments. In addition, the coherent lite solution may offer less technical risk and earlier market availability.

As requirements move beyond 800G towards 1.6T for intra-DC connections, dispersion impairments and link budget requirements are expected to be even more challenging for IM-DD solutions. Because of this, coherent-lite solutions are expected to be a strong contender for high-volume 1.6T intra-DC interconnect applications.

Introduction
In Part 2 of this blog series, I discussed how the approach of common development based on silicon photonics (SiPh) benefits both performance-optimized multi-haul and MSA pluggable coherent products. In this blog, I expand on why the adoption of standardized baud rates to support Nx400GbE client traffic has been advantageous for MSA pluggable adoption as well as for maximizing multi-haul 400G network coverage in a service provider network. I also discuss how the growth in coherent pluggable shipments impacts the development of performance-optimized multi-haul coherent solutions.

Intuitive Coherent Classifications
With 400GbE becoming today’s unit of traffic currency, it is important to understand what coherent operating conditions are required to efficiently transport 400GbE client traffic. Prior generation leading-edge modulation technology for commercialization was at ~60-68Gbaud (Class 2), which utilized ~4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation to support 1x400GbE client traffic over a 400G wavelength. We saw OIF 400ZR, OpenZR+ MSA, and Open ROADM adopt this transmission scheme for high-volume MSA pluggable applications. Performance-optimized multi-haul coherent solutions also leveraged Class 2 baud rates with dynamic transmission shaping that was centered at ~4 bits/symbol. In addition, multi-haul solutions supported higher capacity with 6 bits/symbol (~64QAM) for shorter reach DCI/Edge applications as well as maximum reach using 2 bits/symbol (~QPSK) for subsea applications. Multi-haul coherent DSPs can dial up or down the desired bits/symbol transmission within this dynamic range.

Moving to the next generation of coherent solutions, a similar approach is being followed to support Nx400GbE traffic per wavelength. In this case, leading edge ~120-136Gbaud Class 3 modulation technology can double the transport capacity compared to Class 2. With Class 3 technology, and using ~4 bits/symbol range, near complete coverage of a service provider’s network with 2x400GbE traffic (800G per wavelength line rate transmission) is possible, as discussed in a previous blog. By dialing the modulation bits/symbol down to ~2 bits/symbol, 1x400GbE subsea applications are possible, while dialing up to ~6 bits/symbol, 3x400GbE client traffic can be transported over a 1.2T wavelength for shorter reach DCI/Edge applications.

Figure 1 shows the number of supported 400GbE clients that can be transported over a single coherent wavelength as a function of baud rate class and ~2, ~4, and ~6 bits/symbol values.

Figure 1. Matrix showing the number of supported 400GbE clients that can be transported over a single coherent wavelength as a function of bits/symbol and baud rate class. Broad Nx400GbE network coverage becomes possible as we move to Class 3 baud rate implementations.

Figure 1 also illustrates how doubling the baud rate maintains the same network coverage (vis-à -vis reach) while doubling the capacity. With performance innovations, the coverage at this doubled capacity may even be greater than the previous class.

Implications of Shipment Trends
The good news is that the technology investments that went into supporting Class 2 coherent pluggable MSA solutions (green-shaded cell in Figure 1) are coming to fruition with high-volume shipments already occurring. In fact, Acacia recently announced over 50k port shipments of 400G coherent pluggable solutions. This is contributing to a notable transition: the number of pluggable coherent modules shipments is forecasted to exceed that of performance-optimized (embedded) coherent module shipments (Figure 2).

What are the implications of the growing adoption of MSA pluggable solutions? The overarching implication for coherent design evolution is that standardization/industry consensus (e.g., baud rates), design elements (e.g., high-speed electrical components), as well as materials and processes (e.g., silicon, SiPh, CMOS processes, co-packaging) that support high-volume MSA pluggable solutions all have a favorable impact on performance-optimized multi-haul solutions. In Part 2, I went into detail about how a common silicon platform enables a cycle of coherent development. The Figure 2 data below indicates that given this growth in MSA pluggable ports, we should see a greater beneficial impact to performance-optimized multi-haul designs because higher volume pluggable solutions can lead to better cost efficiencies, assuming both the multi-haul and MSA pluggable designs leverage a common technology platform.

Figure 2. LightCounting data showing the number of globally shipped MSA pluggable coherent ports exceeding the number of proprietary form-factor ports.

The Road Ahead for Multi-Haul Solutions—CIM 8
As the industry moves towards supporting higher transmission line rates, a natural path to higher steps in baud rate are becoming clearer. Doubling the Class 2 baud rates aligns with the Class 3 120Gbaud+ rates that are being standardized for transport of 800G client traffic. By leveraging common silicon processes and technology, performance-optimized solutions can benefit from the economies of scale.

The recently announced Acacia Coherent Interconnect Module 8 (CIM 8) powered by Acacia’s Jannu DSP are in line with this approach. The CIM 8 is a performance-optimized multi-haul solution that delivers industry-leading performance with single carrier 1.2T operation using 3D Siliconization packaging technology that includes the silicon photonics integrated circuit (SiPh PIC), high-speed modulator driver and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) in a single opto-electronic package. The miniaturization of the module components has resulted in a 140Gbaud multi-haul module design capable of faceplate pluggability.

Figure 3. Acacia’s Coherent Interconnect Module 8 is designed to incorporate many aspects of technology leveraged from higher-volume products (e.g., SiPh, processes, components, packaging).

The CIM 8 can provide efficient transport of 400GbE client traffic across the entire network, including 90 percent coverage using 800G (2x400GbE client traffic), corresponding to the Class 3 row in Figure 1.

All Roads Lead to Multi-Haul

Figure 4. By utilizing common silicon technology, Acacia can leverage the advantages of volume and high-performance designs creating a generational development cycle, with advancements over time, that can result in cost efficiencies as well as time-to-market advantages.

Coherent solutions have evolved from long-distance applications at relatively moderate volumes and are now at a point in the road where shorter distance high-volume applications are driving a demand exceeding their long-distance counterparts. By leveraging standardized baud rates aligned with the corresponding bits/symbol modulation optimized for Nx400GbE, we can increase the overlap of silicon-based design and investments between high-volume MSA pluggable and performance-optimized multi-haul coherent solutions. This enhances the coherent cycle of development, resulting in multi-haul solutions benefiting from volume manufacturable designs while leveraging common technology, which are important for maintaining cost-efficiencies for network operators as bandwidth demand continues to grow.

Learn More About the Considerations Driving Next Generation Multi-Haul Solutions:

Part 2 of 3
Part 1 of 3