High-Speed VCSEL-Based Transceiver for 200 GbE Short-Reach Intra-Datacenter Optical Interconnects

Kanakis Kanakis,Kalavrouziotis Kalavrouziotis,Moeneclaey Moeneclaey,Argyris Argyris,Iliadis Iliadis,Soenen Soenen,Bakopoulos Bakopoulos,Avramopoulos Avramopoulos,Spiga Spiga

doi:10.3390/app9122488

Abstract

The soaring demand for higher speeds in datacenters to address the relentless growth of the global IP traffic places optical interconnects in the spotlight. In this manuscript, we present a high-speed optical transceiver for intra-datacenter connectivity. The transceiver is based on single-mode, single-polarization high-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), a VCSEL driver chip, and a linear receiver. Following a step-by-step approach, we present the architectures, assembly processes, and experimental results from the different modules. More specifically, we demonstrate (1) a data transmission experiment at 80 Gb/s using PAM-4 (four-level Pulse Amplitude Modulation) modulation for a reach of up to 500 m by employing a single-mode VCSEL module, and (2) a full-link experiment proving up to 64 Gb/s per lane capacity using PAM-4 signaling of the VCSEL-based optical transceiver test vehicles in back-to-back configuration and up to 56 Gb/s for 500 m and 2 km transmission distances. The acquired experimental results verify the suitability of the optical transceiver for intra-datacenter interconnects’ applications.

Highlights

Expanding new technologies, video services, artificial intelligence [1], and cloud applications have caused a relentless growth in IP traffic
We present a high-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs)-based optical transceiver tailored for intra-datacenter connectivity
Overshoots can be observed in the case of 40 Gbaud, which derived from the VCSEL’s bandwidth limitations

Summary

Introduction

Video services, artificial intelligence [1], and cloud applications have caused a relentless growth in IP traffic. The nature of these applications and the intrinsic characteristics of networks mean that an enormous proportion of this traffic stays within the datacenter, accounting for 71.5% of the total. In such a challenging landscape, operators struggle to keep pace with the increasing demand for speed, cost, and energy efficiency [3,4]. While shipments of 100 GbE devices are growing exponentially and will continue to proliferate until 2023 [5,6], replacing the respective 40 GbE in datacenters, the upgrade step is nearby [7].

Methods

Results

Conclusion