We kicked off year three of NewPhotonics demos at the Optical Fiber Communications conference (OFC50) this week with breaking news from our customer Centera Photonics. This morning Centera introduced the industry-first advanced DSP based 1.6 terabits per seconds (1.6T) transceiver module featuring the highly integrated NewPhotonics NPG10201 PIC transmitter-on-chip (TOC).
This collaboration between Centera and NewPhotonics enables the industry’s first advanced DSP functioning alongside the NPG10201 octal channel 224Gbps per lane with integrated lasers built to deliver 1.6T OSFP solutions to Tier 1 hyperscalers.
Centera quote excerpt:
“With the NPG10201, we are delivering an unmatched combination of integration, power efficiency, and performance to set a new benchmark for AI-driven networking,” said Dr. KF Tsai, President of Centera Photonics. “By leveraging innovative laser-integrated PIC technology by NewPhotonics, our module eliminates key bottlenecks in power-hungry AI interconnects to dramatically improve thermal efficiency, manufacturing scalability, and overall system reliability. This highly integrated approach enables a breakthrough in pluggable transceiver density while keeping power consumption at industry-leading levels and scale needs that our customers need urgently.”
Read the full press release here.
Stage is Set for Optical Signal Processing
Wider adoption of linear pluggable optics is in the spotlight at OFC this year as well. In addition to our solution for DSP based optical modules, this week we will showcase the award-winning NPG10202 LPO+ transmitter on chip solution for LPO-based transceiver module designs in meetings with customers and partners. Our unique chip with heterogeneous laser integration and integrated optical equalizer enables interoperability leads the way in the shift to all-optics and optical signal processing (OSP).
Speaking of award winning, our LPO+ chip is honored to receive a 4.5 Excellent review rating form Lightwave+BTR – a recognition award we receive later today with other honorees at a gathering in San Francisco. This is the second innovation award for NPG10202 within the past year and further validation that our built for interop approach to integration is leading the industry efforts to enable optical connectivity solutions to address today’s AI-driven interconnect power and latency burdens.
LPO-MSA Releases First Interoperability Specification
With the release last week of the first full specification by the Linear Pluggable Optics Multi-Service Agreement (LPO-MSA) Group, the stage is set for ecosystem-driven interoperability support.
In addition to NPG102 product demos this week at OFC we will show how our transparent link management technology for IEEE 802.3df/dj link training enabling non-disruptive channel management for uninterrupted and improved channel and BER performance. Compatible with any PAM4 channel at 112Gbps/lane and 224Gbp/lane configurations, the comparison demonstrates continuous link channel management without and with integration equalization. If you’re interested in seeing it, you can still register for a demo on our OFC page.
Coexistence: Pluggables and CPO
With last week’s NVIDIA announcement at GTC the discussion should be a lively on this week on CPO and pluggables. The NVIDIA announcement marks a significant milestone in the race for AI-driven networking. Alongside the PIC products we offer today in pluggables, our efforts in disruptive CPO solutions will deliver 32x better performance redefining what’s possible in high-speed, power-efficient optical networking. You can read more about this in our blog and Photonics Spectra article.
How will the industry foresee the value of coexisting solutions to the urgent latency and power challenges facing data centers worldwide? We’ll see you at the state of the industry keynote to hear what tone will be set for the week by voices from Nvidia, Arista Networks, Coherent, Google, Alibaba and Terahop.
For timely updates on NewPhotonics follow us on LinkedIn. And watch this space next week for our recap of the 2025 Optical Fiber Conference and let us know your key takeaways from this year’s event. Let us know what you believe will be the most significant impacts from optical connectivity coming this year.
