PIC - Photonic Integrated Circuit

GPU cluster DCN optical communication travels at the speed of light, but the rate limiting step is often the encoding of information in a communication channel, known as the baud rate. Today’s 400G-type coherent interfaces are based on 60 gigabaud (Gbaud) protocols which would theoretically need to double to 120 Gbaud to support the new 800G standard. However, electro-optic components find it very challenging to operate at 120 Gbaud. Insert research here to find a solution! 

Data Centers Require a High-Bandwith Solution

As the amount of data flowing through data centers continues to increase, limited transfer speeds impose processing bottlenecks. Traditional copper-based wiring schemes, while sufficient for many applications, cannot support the bandwidth and efficiency demands that the next generation of data centers will need. 

This becomes especially true with 800 Gb/s transmission on the horizon and even more so when looking toward the future of 1.6 Tb/s and 3.2 Tb/s data rates. As such, designers are investigating photonics to improve the bandwidth and efficiency of data center communications.