Increasing Baud Rates Delivers Twice the Capacity and Longer Reaches
History has shown that increasing baud rate is an efficient way to enable more cost-effective optical networks by reducing the number of optics required to support a given transmission capacity. As highlighted in the graphic below, by doubling the baud rate between successive generations, Class 3 products such as Acacia’s CIM 8 1.2T module supports twice the capacity per carrier over greater reaches than Class 2 solutions. This approach provides a simple, scalable path that supports higher capacity per carrier over the reaches needed for existing network architectures.

Network operators leveraging Class 3 140Gbaud solutions for DCI, metropolitan, long-haul, and subsea applications can maximize their network coverage across a wider distance than ever before. This results in the capability to transmit native 400G client traffic over virtually any network application, delivering 3x400G over 1.2Tbps per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces, 2x400G over 800Gbps per carrier capacity for most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation and 2 bits/symbol (400G QPSK) over ultra-long-haul and subsea distances.

Acacia’s Dayou Qian, Product Line Manager, will discuss the migration to high baud rate 400G QPSK during a live panel presentation titled Class 3 Optical Transport Systems: from DCI to Subsea at OptiNet China on June 20.

Learn More about Acacia’s Performance Optimized Solutions
As the first coherent module on the market to break through the terabit threshold, Acacia’s 1.2T CIM 8 module has proven its outstanding performance with multiple record breaking field trials across a wide range of applications. Visit this link to learn more.

Supporting data rates up to 1.2 terabits per second (1.2Tbps), the CIM 8 is the first commercial single optical carrier coherent transceiver that breaks into the “Terabit Era.” It is powered by Jannu, Acacia’s 8^th generation digital signal processor (DSP) ASIC, which is based on 5nm CMOS and features the latest in Silicon Photonic technology.  This solution delivers industry-leading performance in a small faceplate pluggable module by combining the Jannu DSP with 3D Siliconization packaging technology. The CIM 8 supports multi-haul applications by using second-generation 3D Shaping technology and continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud, enabling customers to scale their networks efficiently and cost-effectively.

“The ability to maximize transmission data rate across a wide range of multi-haul network applications is key for cost-effectively scaling networks,” said Bill Gartner, SVP / GM Optical Systems and Optics Group at Cisco.  “Not only does the CIM 8 deliver exceptional performance, but it also consumes less than half the power per bit of competing solutions, allowing us to support terabit transmission with a small pluggable module.”

“Shipping CIM 8 Terabit Era optical transceivers with 140Gbaud capability to customers and seeing them tested in carrier networks is very exciting,” said Mehrdad Givehchi, VP of Engineering for Acacia. “Delivering the highest channel capacity and longest reach with maximum fiber utilization, the CIM 8 transceiver enables a wide range of multi-haul network applications including DCI, metro, long-haul, and subsea.”

Benefits of Increased Baud Rates

Increasing baud rate is an efficient way to enable more cost-effective optical networks by reducing the number of optics needed to support a given transmission capacity. By doubling the baud rate between successive generations, CIM 8 supports twice the capacity per carrier over greater reaches than earlier generations such as our widely deployed AC1200 coherent module. Three 400GbE client interfaces can be transmitted over virtually any network application, delivering 1.2Tbps per carrier capacity for high-capacity DCI interfaces, 800G per carrier capacity over most optical links using 4 bits/symbol (~16QAM) modulation and 400G QPSK over ultra-long-haul and subsea distances.

Performance Optimizing Features Enabled by the Jannu DSP

A key feature of the Jannu DSP is Acacia’s second-generation 3D Shaping technology, which includes advanced Probabilistic Constellation Shaping, Adaptive Baud Rate, and enhanced transmission impairment compensation algorithms providing superior performance using a single carrier implementation. This technology gives service providers unprecedented transmission flexibility to match their network’s architecture, optimize fiber utilization, simplify deployment, and save on both CAPEX and OPEX.

The Jannu DSP provides customers with continuous baud rate adjustment up to 140Gbaud and continuous modulation to optimize utilization of available spectrum in point-to-point DWDM or cascaded ROADM paths. As a single carrier design, the Jannu DSP incorporates Acacia’s most advanced line-rate processing algorithms to efficiently overcome fiber transmission impairments across various fiber types and fiber cable installation conditions. These power-efficient algorithms are designed to compensate fiber non-linearity to achieve longer transmission distance, automatically compensate for very large chromatic dispersion over trans-Pacific submarine cables, tolerate older deployed fibers with high Polarization Mode Dispersion, as well as provide fast state-of-polarization tracking required for aerial fiber cables in stormy weather conditions.

Leverages Acacia’s 3D Siliconization

The CIM 8 continues Acacia’s history of technology leadership by delivering industry leading performance based on the same silicon photonics used in high-volume pluggable modules. 3D Siliconization, a key enabler for the industry leading 140Gbaud, uses highly scalable and reliable volume semiconductor manufacturing processes, leveraging 3D stacking technology to enable a single packaged device to include all the high speed electrical and opto-electronic functions necessary for coherent transceivers. This device decreases footprint by integrating the DSP, Photonic Integrated Circuit, modulator drivers, and Transimpedance Amplifiers, and is manufactured using standard CMOS packaging processes that offer improvements in reliability, cost, and volume scaling.

To learn more, visit the Coherent Interconnect Module 8 page or contact us.

Supporting Resources

Acacia Unveils Industry’s First Single Carrier 1.2T Multi-Haul Pluggable Module

How Industry Trends are Driving Coherent Technology Classifications

The Road Ahead for Next Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 1 of 3)

The Road Ahead for Next Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 2 of 3)

The Road Ahead for Next-Generation Multi-Haul Designs (Part 3 of 3)

100GBaud+ Silicon Photonics Solutions Drive Optical Network Evolution