From March 8 to 10, OFC 2022 (Optical Fiber Communications Exhibition) was held at the San Diego Convention Center in California. This year, there are still a large number of Chinese companies participating in the United States, showing off the new products and new technologies of the past year at the most influential exhibition in the industry.
Chinese companies have become an important pole in the global optical communication industry, especially in the field of optical transceivers, which have quickly caught up and have accounted for 50% of the global share. Not only scale, but also technology. At this year's OFC, we can see that with the 800G optical module as the representative, Chinese suppliers shine brightly.
In fact, as early as last year's OFC, 800G has become an important display theme for suppliers at home and abroad. According to the author's understanding, last year was more about showing "we have" and "we can", and this year's display, in addition to some companies catching up with the rhythm, there are also some companies that show "our rich product line" and "we can supply". Overall, in the cutting-edge 800G field, China's optical communication suppliers have been at the forefront of the industry.
800G is a battle for beauty
According to the author's incomplete statistics, Chinese suppliers of 800G optical transceivers were released or demonstrated at this year's OFC, including Hengtong Rockley, Innolux Technology, Huagong Zhengyuan, Sols Optoelectronics, New Yisheng, Androng Technology, etc.
Among them, Huntong Rockley released an 800G QSFP-DD800 2xFR4 optical module for next-generation data center networks and conducted a live demonstration. Last year's OFC, Hengtong Rocky released the 800G QSFP-DD800 DR8 optical transceiver, and this year it enriched the product line. According to reports, the two 800G optical modules use the latest generation of integrated Driver's 7nm DSP, cooled EML and based on the COB packaging platform shared with 400G. The total power consumption of both modules is about 16W, which meets the requirements of low power consumption in data centers. In addition, Henton Lockley plans to develop an 800G optical module based on silicon photonic technology.
Innolux launched the 800G OSFP and QSFP-DD800 silicon optical module product line, OFC demonstrated the 800G pluggable OSFP 2xFR4 and QSFP-DD800 DR8+ silicon optical modules, which can support a transmission distance of 10km. At present, the DR8 and 2xFR4 silicon optical modules of 800G OSFP and QSFP-DD800 have begun to send samples to customers for testing.
Huagong Zhengyuan comprehensively exhibited the overall solution of "optical connection + wireless connection" for 7 product lines such as data center, wireless/transmission, access, network terminal, home terminal, optics, HGT, etc., including high-speed pluggable 800G OSFP SR8\2*FR4 and QSFP-DD DR8 optical module products used in the field of ultra-large-scale cloud data centers. The company pointed out that since the realization of the batch delivery of the 400G full range in 2021, the product has rapidly iterated to the high-end field. The launch of three 800G products by OFC is the best proof of the diversified layout of overseas markets and the products among the high-end series.
Sals Optoelectronics announced that the company's 800G QSFP-DD800 and OSFP optical transceiver series products use self-developed 53G EML lasers and 800G DSP chips with 7nm process, and provide rich and diverse fiber optic connector interfaces, which can support direct interconnection with 400G modules, providing convenience for smooth data center upgrades. At present, the 800G series products have entered the stage of small batch production and are accepting bulk orders from key customers.
New Yisheng demonstrated its next-generation 800G optical transceiver products at OFC, which are based on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulator technology with lower power consumption. Through the demonstration of the 800G thin film lithium niobate solution, New Yisheng aims to show a possible direction for the industry.
Optics Technology also showcased the 800G QSFP-DD 2x400G FR4 and DR8 optical modules, using the latest generation of integrated driver DSP, and the overall power consumption does not exceed 16W, meeting the requirements of low power consumption in data centers. The same mature COC process platform as the 400G optical transceiver greatly ensures the batch delivery capacity and product consistency of the 800G optical transceiver, and lays the delivery foundation for the large-scale commercial use of the 800G series module.
The 800G market value is huge
The 800G optical transceiver is standard for the latest generation of optical transmission systems and has great market potential. According to LightCounting, a well-known research institution in the industry, it is predicted that starting in 2022, 800G optical transceivers will gradually start in volume, and it is expected to exceed the sales of 400G optical transceivers by 2024, with a market size of 7 billion US dollars. If Chinese suppliers take half of that share, they have $3.5 billion in market cake to share.
In addition, according to River Reading, although 400G coherent interpolable optical devices have attracted widespread attention in the industry in 2021, the most advanced technology in current commercial systems is based on 7nm 90+ Gbaud digital signal processing (DSP) 800G coherent optical devices. Compared with 400G pluggable, the current 800G coherent optical devices are embedded in the circuit board, and the future development goal is pluggable options. This year to next, 800G will enter the peak of deployment.
800G ultra-high-speed optical network, gradually approaching. China's optical transceiver suppliers have occupied a good position in the field of 800G optical transceivers. Of course, on the side of the 800G system, Huawei and ZTE are already in a leading position in the industry. The two work better together, and 800G can be expected in the future. (C114 Namsan)