Companies enable transition to 400G pluggable coherent optics

Bandwidth growth, stimulated by the expansion of data centres and 5G network build-outs, is anticipated to drive the demand for faster coherent Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing pluggable optics.

Consequently, DCI and metro OTN platforms are transitioning from 100/200G to 400G pluggable coherent optical modules to support these hyper-connected architectures. Microchip Technology and Acacia support this transition by delivering to market interoperable solution sets comprising Microchip’s DIGI-G5 OTN processor and META-DX1 terabit secured-Ethernet PHY and Acacia’s 400G pluggable coherent optics. The objective of the collaboration is to build an ecosystem to support 400G CFP2-DCO, QSFP-DD and OSFP modules for the 400ZR specification and the OpenZR+ and Open ROADM MSA applications.

“DIGI-G5 and META-DX1 have enabled our optical transport, IP routing and Ethernet switching customers to implement a new class of multi-terabit OTN switching and high-density 100/400 GbE and FlexE line cards that deliver on stringent packet timing and integrated security capabilities for the build-out of cloud and carrier 5G-ready optical networks,” said Babak Samimi, vice president for Microchip’s Communications business unit. “Our interoperability efforts with Acacia help to demonstrate that an ecosystem for volume deployment of these new line cards with pluggable 400G coherent optics exists.”

“With Acacia’s 400G coherent modules verified to interoperate with Microchip’s DIGI-G5 and META-DX1 devices, we see it as a robust solution designed to address network capacity growth and improved efficiency,” said Markus Weber, senior director DSP, product line management of Acacia, now part of Cisco. “The compact size and power efficiency of our 400G OpenZR+ CFP2-DCO modules were designed to help network operators deploy and scale capacity of high-bandwidth DWDM connectivity between data centres and in metro networks.”