25G SFP28 AOC: The Market and Trends

In general, there are three ways of 25G access of server, namely DAC (Direct Attach Cable), optical transceiver and AOC(Active Optical Cable).

DAC can reach no more than 5m, so it is difficult to meet the requirements of cross-rack wiring distance.

The optical transceiver can reach up to 100m or more using multi-mode fiber, but the cost is high.

AOC is an Active Optical Cable. AOC can reach up to 30m at a reasonable cost.

Therefore, AOC cable is a good choice for cross-rack server access, which is more suitable for China’s current data center rack power and network architecture. Here’s some information about the 25G AOC that you may be wondering about.

25G AOC provides a cost-effective solution for those same data center applications that require longer distance interconnect using active optical Ethernet technology. There are some advantages to 25G AOC.

The Advantages of 25G AOC

25G is the next trend from 10G to reduce the cost per Gbit/sec

25G provides 2.5 times the bandwidth of 10G using in the same SFP form factor

25G is ideal for data center top of the rack, wireless backhaul and enterprise interconnect applications

25G meets the newest server adapter requirements

10/25G transceivers are compatible with 10G, 25G, 40G and 100G transceivers

The Gigalight 25G SFP28 Active Optical Cables (AOCs) are direct-attach fiber assemblies with SFP28 connectors, compliant with 25G Ethernet IEEE 802.3by 25GBASE-SR standard. They are suitable for short distances and offer a cost-effective solution to connect within racks and across adjacent racks. The length is up to 70 meters using OM3 MMF and 100 meters using OM4 MMF. COB solution is used in the TX and RX.

The Highlights and Advantages of Gigalight 25G SFP28 AOC

Low power consumption<1W

The pre-FEC bit error ratio (BER) is guaranteed to meet E10-8 25.78125Gb/s@PRBS31, 55℃, Better than the IEEE pre-FEC BER of less than 5 E-5.

Mature COB technology

Low Cost

High capacity, timely delivery

CE, UL, RoHS, GR-468 test report

Active Optical Cables Market by Protocol Type

Ethernet

InfiniBand

HDMI PCI Express (PCIe)

Thunderbolt

Others

Application of AOC

Active Optical Cable assembly. Cable assemblies that use fiber–optic transceivers and fiber-optic interconnect to transmit high-speed serial data such as InfiniBand and Ethernet.

Data center

The data center is expected to lead the end-user segment of the active optical cable in recent years.

Active optical cables play a key role in the data center market. Active optical cables are largely used in the data center to meet the need for increased bandwidth and low power. The data center market also needs a broad portfolio of fiber optic modules to connect servers, switches, and storage, which is accomplished by an active optical cable. Therefore, the increase in the deployment of data centers is a key factor behind the growth of the active optical cable market.

High-Performance Computing

Consumer Electronics

Telecommunication

Global Key Region Production Market Share

China

China will be the leading country in the active optical cable market in the APAC region in recent years.

North America

North America is expected to hold the largest market share in recent years. Currently, North America holds the largest share of the active optical cable market. The U.S. invests heavily in the data center sector which is becoming a major hub for the integration of active optical cable. Huge numbers of the data center are seen in the U.S., where active optical cables are increasingly being used.

Europe

APAC

APAC is estimated to grow at the highest rate in the overall market till 2022. The data center and consumer electronics are major sectors driving the growth of the active optical cable market in the APAC.

RoW

Conclusion

Within the data center, AOCs continue to be deployed to optimize the existing infrastructure by providing higher data rates among servers, switches and storage facilities. Since China’s data center AOC commercialization in 2013, Gigalight has successfully developed a series of rich and comprehensive product portfolios that meet the requirements of next-generation data centers. As one of the global AOC providers around the world, Gigalight has a complete product line includes SFP, QSFP, SFP-DD, CXP, QSFP-DD form factor. The latest product portfolios include the ultra-high-speed 400G QSFP-DD AOC, 200G QSFP-DD AOC, 200G QSFP56 AOC, and 100G QSFP28 AOC, etc.. Gigalight also provides data center customers with customized products and services to meet the more extreme requirements.

AOC Uses in Modern Data Centers

AOC is composed of integrated optoelectronic devices for high-speed, high-reliability interconnected transmission device between data centers, high-performance computers, and large-capacity memory devices. It usually meets the industry standard electrical interface and transmits data by the superiority of fiber optic cable and electrical-to-optical conversion.

While AOC reaches can extend to the limits of the optical technology used (100-200m), installing a long 100m cable, complete with an expensive transceiver end, is difficult in crowded data center racks so the average reach typically used is between 3-30m. Only one “oops” per cable allowed. Damaging the cable means replacing it as it cannot be repaired in the field. AOCs are typically deployed in open access areas such as within racks or in open cable trays for this reason.

Gigalight 25G SFP28 Active Optical Cables (AOCs) are direct-attach fiber assemblies with SFP28 connectors, compliant with 25G Ethernet IEEE 802.3by 25GBASE-SR standard. They are suitable for short distances and offer a cost-effective solution to connect within racks and across adjacent racks. The length is up to 70 meters using OM3 MMF and 100 meters using OM4 MMF.

The Advantages of Gigalight 25G SFP28 AOC

Low power consumption <1W

The pre-FEC bit error ratio (BER) is guaranteed to meet E10-8 25.78125Gb/s@PRBS31, 55℃, Better than the IEEE pre-FEC BER of less than 5 E-5.

Mature COB technology

Low Cost

High capacity, timely delivery

CE, UL, RoHS, GR-468 test report

Conclusion

The power and cost savings caught the eye of the Ethernet hyperscale and enterprise data center builders and has since become a popular way to link Top-of-Rack switches upwards to aggregation layer switches such as End-of-Row and leaf switches. Several hyperscale companies have publicly stated their preferred use of AOCs for linking Top-of-Rack switches. Additionally, single channel (SFP) AOCs have become very popular in high-speed, NVMe storage subsystems. Some hyperscale builders often run 10G or 25G AOCs from a Top-of-Rack switch to subsystems at reaches greater than DAC limits of 3-7m.

25G Low-Cost AOC

25G Ethernet, or 25Gigabit Ethernet (25GbE), is developed by IEEE 802.3 Task Force P802.3by. The IEEE 802.3by standard uses technology defined for 100Gigabit Ethernet implemented as four 25Gbps lanes (IEEE 802.3bj). Actually, 40G and 100G have already existed before the emergence of 25G. However, 25G Ethernet can provide a more convenient path to Ethernet speeds of 50G, 100G and beyond. With 25G, network operators are no longer to use 40G Ethernet (using four lanes of 10G) to migrate to 100G but using 4 lanes of 25G. The article introduces low-cost 25G AOC.

What Is A 25G AOC?

25G AOC can be overcome the bandwidth limitation of traditional high-speed cable, and the 25G AOC can provide an ideal alternative solution for high-speed cable and short-distance SFP28 optical transceiver, and the signal is more complete and higher performance. It is widely used in high-speed, high-density, and low-power data center networks.

The 25G AOC consists of optical transceiver devices at both ends and composed of different length of OM3 or OM4 multimode optical fibers. The transceiver devices at both ends can provide the function of photoelectric conversion and optical transmission. This function ensures data transmission stability and application flexibility.

The 25G SFP28 AOC is designed to operate over multimode fiber systems using a nominal wavelength of 850nm. The electrical interface uses a 20-contact edge type connector.

Features of Gigalight 25G SFP28 AOCs

● Hot-pluggable SFP28 form-factor connectors

● Transmission data rate up to 25.78Gbps

● 850nm VCSEL laser

● PIN photo-detector

● Internal CDR circuits on both receiver and transmitter channels

● Low power consumption < 1W per end

● Length up to 70m using OM3 MMF and 100m using OM4 MMF

● Operating case temperature range 0°C to +70°C

● 3.3V power supply voltage

● RoHS-6 compliant (lead-free)

Why Choosing Gigalight 25G SFP28 AOCs?

The Gigalight 25G SFP28 AOCs are direct-attach fiber assemblies with SFP28 connectors, compliant with 25G Ethernet IEEE 802.3by 25GBASE-SR standard. They are suitable for short distances and offer a cost-effective solution to connect within racks and across adjacent racks. The length is up to 70 meters using OM3 MMF and 100 meters using OM4 MMF.

Conclusion

Gigalight offers 25G SFP28 AOC to enable short reach options, as well as a range of optical transceivers in an SFP form factor for various fiber types and reach requirements.

The Path to Upgrade Data Center

With the increasing demand for high bandwidth from private cloud, public cloud data center and service providers, 25G and 100G are widely used. 200G and 400G optical devices will be successively produced and shipped from 2019. So far, most server vendors have started offering servers 25G of fiber-optic network CARDS as an I/O(input/output) option, and Ethernet’s signal transmission rate has increased from the earlier 10G to 25G, 100G or higher. While 1G, 10G and 40G currently dominate the Ethernet port market, the future demand for 25G and 100G is stronger than ever as high bandwidth is undeniably driving data centers toward greater scalability and flexibility.

Why Is 25G Coming to Data Centers?

Data centers are expanding at an unprecedented rate, driving the need for higher bandwidth connections between servers and switches. To accommodate this trend, the access network has been upgraded from 10G to 25G, providing high-density, low-cost, and low-power solutions for the connection between servers and ToR switches.

The Development History of 25G

Since its advent in 2014, Google, Microsoft, Arista Networks, Broadcom, and Mellanox have been driving the development of the 25G Ethernet standard, which is intended to enable a 25G top-shelf server network. With the increasing popularity of 25G and its rapid spread in the market, 25G will provide a comprehensive solution for the connection between server and switch in the future.

The Advantages of 25G

Before the release of 25G Ethernet standard, enterprises, operators and other data centers generally adopt the network upgrading method of 10G to 40G. With the official release of 25G Ethernet standard, 25G to 100G network upgrading method has gained more applications with the advantages of low cost, low power consumption and high density, promoting the rapid development of 100G Ethernet. Let’s take a look at the differences between 10G, 25G, 40G, and which upgrade is superior.

25G Can Provide Higher Performance Bandwidth Than 10G

In the current data center, the network connection between the server and the switch is generally between 10G and 25G. Compared with 10G, 25G is an improvement based on 10G packaging and chip technology, providing higher bandwidth and performance. The emergence of 25G enables the data center to be based on the existing network architecture without any cable interconnection, and can also support the transmission of higher rate (over 10G), meet the demand for higher bandwidth in the future network, and make the network upgrade more convenient and easy. The wiring infrastructure required for 25G and 10G transmission is basically the same, which can effectively avoid the expensive cost and the complexity of rewiring and make the network upgrade more convenient.

In addition, the 25G is similar to the 10G in that it uses a single channel of SerDes for backward compatibility, significantly reducing power consumption and costs and helping data center operators save capital and operating expenses.

Insert 25G SFP28 optical transceiver into 10G SFP+ port, what speed will we get?

Theoretically, the 25G SFP28 optical transceiver is backwards compatible with 10G SFP+ port, and its rate can reach 10G/s. However, this mode of use is not suitable for all brands of switches and optical transceivers. Considering the limitation of the fiber network card and switch port, this mode is generally not recommended.

25G Is More Suitable for High-density Requirements Than 40G

For large, high-end enterprises, the port density of the server largely determines the cost of cabling and switch infrastructure in the whole system. Therefore, compared with 40G, the cost of upgrading from 25G to 100G is relatively low. Because 25G to 100G network upgrade, the switch port is fully utilized, effectively reducing the cost of bandwidth.

It has been upgraded to a 40G network. Is it necessary to deploy a 25G network?

25G devices are expensive compared to 40G devices, so having upgraded to a 40G network, is it necessary to deploy a 25G network? Due to the cost rationalization of the 25G channel, 25G is definitely an important path to upgrade from 10G to 100G or higher in the future. If you need to increase the baud rate (signal transfer rate) or plan to upgrade the network to a higher speed (100G/200G/400G), then you must deploy the 25G network. If there is no requirement, then you do not need to deploy the 25G network.

The Prospect of 25G

At present, 25G servers and 100G switches can be seen everywhere in very large data centers. They gradually replace the earlier 10G servers and 40G switches. This network upgrade increases the throughput of the whole system by 2.5 times and reduces the incremental cost of equipment. As the Ethernet industry continues to innovate and lay the foundation for higher rate research and development, the 25G-100G upgrade model has become an important path for data centers.

25G Offers More Possibilities for 50G

As we all know, 25G can provide 2.5 times the bandwidth compared with 10G, and 50G can provide 1.25 times the bandwidth compared with 40G in the future. Currently, 50G has been proposed as the basis for 100G,200G, 400G network upgrade, but the implementation of 50G Ethernet standard still needs some time.

25G will provide more possibilities for 50G, as the implementation of 50G Ethernet can be based on two 25G channels, so it will be an alternative to the current use of four 10G channels up to 40G, reducing the cost of network equipment in the data center by reducing channel deflection. In the future, the network upgrade path may evolve from the traditional 10G-40G-100G to 10G-25G-50G-100G. In any case, upgrading a data center from multiple 25G channels to a 50G or 100G network will be simpler and more economical.

25G Lays the Foundation for 200G and 400G Network Upgrade

The 25G,50G,100G network architecture offers greater flexibility and is often used as a solution for large data centers, paving the way for later 200G/400G upgrades. At present, high-end enterprises and large data centers are shifting towards this, effectively promoting the implementation of large data centers and the interconnection between data centers. Nowadays, more and more suppliers in the market are engaged in the research and development of 200G and 400G optical devices, some of which have been successfully put into use. The implementation of 100G Ethernet is based on the development of 25G/50G. Similarly, the future network upgrade of 200G and 400G will be based on 100G. The following table lists the paths from 25G/50G/100G to 200G/400G.

Conclusion

The need for higher speed and performance in future data centers will never cease. Looking back at the evolution of 25G over the past few years, you can see that the emergence of 25G is a milestone in the next generation of data center network bandwidth and channel capacity expansion. The 25G to 100G network upgrade overturns the traditional 10G-40G network and improves the efficiency of the data center by providing higher bandwidth and port density, reducing power consumption and cost. It lays a solid foundation for the 200G/400G upgrade. Let’s wait and see how the continuous development and innovation of Ethernet will promote the new round of changes in the data center.

Gigalight supplies one-stop data center optical transceivers for 40G/50G/100G/200G/400G Ethernet interconnections. Gigalight has been keeping pace with the industry’s mainstream technology, focusing on boutique development to help users create a high-capacity, high-reliability, large cache cloud data center network. In the future, Gigalight will bring more innovative products to customers.

Which One Is the Option for 5G Fronthaul? 10G, 25G or 100G?

5G is expected to be implemented in the following years. To have this 5G network realized, optical communication will be the cornerstone technology independent of various fronthaul options. The demand for high-rate optical transceivers will significantly increase because higher base-station density is required for the 5G network.

Although it is still not clearly determined which fronthaul architecture will be used in the 5G network, it is apparent that the network would employ both grey and color optics for 25Gbps based on 5G bandwidth requirement.

Grey and Color Optics

The light in WDM systems is carried over different wavelengths compliant with specific standards.

To distinguish wavelengths in different systems, the wavelengths in WDM systems are called colored light whereas the wavelengths in common optical systems are called grey light.

Grey light is within a certain wavelength range and does not have a standard wavelength, for example, the light at client-side optical ports of WDM devices.

Colored light is WDM-side optical signals of the OTN or line boards in a WDM system. The signals can be directly transmitted to multiplexer devices and have standard wavelengths.

Colored light is divided into CWDM and DWDM light, depending on wavelength division standards.

For 5G network, Gigalight has a complete portfolio of 10Gbps and 25Gbps optical transceivers that are tailored for upcoming standards such as eCPRI/NGFI as well as traditional CPRI options.

Gigalight 25G SFP28 transceivers also play in a critical role in the growing bandwidth demand in next generation access networks such as 5G wireless. While interface developments, like the recently released eCPRI specifications, will help improve bandwidth efficiency, the 5G wireless infrastructure will require significantly higher capacity in the optical links. Compact, power and cost-efficient 25G transceivers supporting both Ethernet and CPRI-10 while exposed to the elements will play a key role in supporting the rollout of this next generation wireless infrastructure.

Conclusion

At present, 10G optical transceivers were mainly used in LTE base stations. In the 5G network, it is expected that 25G and even 100G optical transceivers shall be the preferred solutions of the optical fronthaul network.

In Case You Missed the Questions for 25G Transceiver

Here’s a frequently asked question to address questions that have arisen from the significant uptick in the use of 25G transceivers, which is driven by high bandwidth demands in the enterprise, data center and service provider applications.

1. Why is the use of 25G increasing?

Many network operators have chosen 25G instead of multiple 10G’s because 25G provides 2.5x bandwidth of the 10G in the same familiar SFP form factor at approximately the same power. This has enabled network equipment manufacturers to provide higher bandwidth connectivity. Rack-mountable switches and routers populated with 12 ports, 24 ports, and 48 ports on a single 1 RU faceplate are common for SFP.

2. What is the cost per bit of 25G?

25G provides 2.5x the bandwidth of 10G at a slight increase in cost. The result is nearly a 50% reduction in the cost per bit.

3. Is 25G standardized?

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) has standardized 25G. See IEEE802.3by and IEEE802.3cc for the details.

4. Which popular Gigalight’s 25G transceivers are available today?

25G SFP28 SR 100mIndustrial

25G SFP28 LR 10km Industrial

25G SFP28 ER Lite 20km Industrial

25G LWDM SFP28 ER 40km Industrial

25G SFP28 BiDi 10km Industrial

25G SFP28 BiDi 20km Industrial

25G CWDM SFP28 10km Industrial

5. What is SFP28?

SFP28 is the standardized pluggable form factor for 25G transceivers. It has the same mechanical dimensions as 10G SFP+ and 1G SFP. The electrical interface of 25G was envisioned to operate up to 28Gbps to accommodate overhead for a 25Gbps signal. Today most 25G transceivers operate at a 25.78125Gbps nominal data rate. The standards body that defines SFP28 is SFF (Small Form Factor Committee).

6. What is SR?

SR is Short Reach, and generally refers to transceivers that operate over MMF up to a few 100 meters.

7. What is LR?

LR is Long Reach, and generally refers to transceivers that operate over SMF at up to 10km.

8. What is ER?

ER is Extended Reach, the data rate of the transceivers support distance up to 40km over single mode fiber and use 1550nm lasers.

9. What is BiDi?

BiDi is called bi-direction as well. BiDi transceiver usually consists of two different wavelengths to achieve transmission in both directions on just one fiber (single-mode or multi-mode). Unlike general optical transceivers which have two ports, BiDi transceivers have only one port.

10. What is CWDM?

CWDM is Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexer, a process of combining multiple wavelengths into a single fiber optical cable. Considering the smooth evolution of 5G equipment and the development of the industry chain, 25G CWDM SFP28 solution can well solve the current 5G millimeter wave pre-transmission problem.

11. What does “10/25G” mean?

These are dual-rate transceivers that support both 10G and 25G rates.

12. What New Technology Is in 25G Transceivers?

25G transceivers have CDR (Clock Data Recovery) circuits and generally require FEC (Forward Error Correction).

13. Where can additional information about Gigaligh 25G transceivers be found?

See the Gigalight 25G: https://www.gigalight.com/5g-fronthaul-optical-transceivers.html

South Korea Started Its Path to 5G

South Korea has been seeking to become the world’s first country to provide commercial service for the 5G network.

There are three companies that agreed to bring 5G to South Korea: SK Telecom (SKT), KT, and LG Uplus.

Three Companies Offer 5G in South Korea

SKT(SK Telecom)

SKT 5G access is available for a manufacturing business in Ansan called Myunghwa Industry. The company also schedules to provide 5G to enterprise customers in Daejeon, Incheon, Daegu, Ulsan, Busan, and Gwangju.

In 2017, with an outdoor 5G trial in Seoul, and shortly after built out 5G technology in their autonomous driving city called K-City.

In 2018, their 5G test network enabled two cars to communicate with each other.

And in early 2019, they made their first live 5G TV broadcast. This 5G rollout will mark the end of their 2G services.

SKT is also part of a 5G smart factory alliance with over a dozen other companies. Announced in late 2018, the alliance was formed for two reasons: to investigate how 5G can improve factory performance and to support the government’s plan to build tens of thousands of smart factories by 2022.

KT Corporation

KT Corporation launched its 5G network at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, plus several other areas including Ulleungdo, Jeju, and Dokdo. They aim to provide 5G coverage for over 80 cities before 2020 and will offer commercial 5G services in March 2019, with business sectors being the first to see 5G’s benefits (smart factories, smart traffic networks, etc.).

Before their 5G rollout, KT and Intel showcased 5G at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. They’ve committed to a $20 billion investment through 2023 to research how to best utilize 5G.

LG Uplus

South Korean 5G provider LG Uplus is live with its 5G network in Seoul and some other nearby locations, and is on their way to wider coverage, having erected over 7,000 5G base stations in 2018. LG Uplus plans to provide 5G infrastructure in major cities before 2020. Their first 5G customer was LS Mtron.

When Is 5G Coming to South Korea?

SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus began their 5G services in South Korea that was two days earlier than previously announced the launch date would be April 5, when sales of Samsung’s 5G-enabled Galaxy S10 smartphone began.

Although 5G launched in South Korea, it’s not available everywhere just yet.

SK Telecom’s 5G network already covers 85 cities and communities, with 34,000 base stations installed across the nation.

The South Korean government’s Ministry of Science and ICT predicts that by 2020, 30 percent of the country’s mobile users will have access to a 5G network, with 90 percent coverage by 2026.

Conclusion

South Korea is one of the top consumers of the optical fiber. When it comes to the current South Korean 5G market, there are potential demands to 5G optical modules. 5G base stations will augment the global roll-out of FTTH networks over the coming years. There will be a need for high capacity fiber links to connect. Of course, the optical modules for 5G base stations were used to connect will be rapidly increasing. Gigalight 10G/25G industrial optical modules are enabling the highest bandwidth, highest density, lowest power, and lowest total cost interconnect solutions on the market today. We are ready to partner with you to push 5G. Let’s build the future of 5G together.

Forecast that by 2020, most countries will have access to 5G networks.

5G is an attractive topic all the time. The speed of 5G is the significant advantage it has over 4G, which is what will allow 5G networks to change the way we live our everyday lives. With 5G, you will see the world as you’ve never seen it before.

Optical Modules for 5G Fronthaul

With the development of the optical communication industry and the improvement of the technology, the demand for bandwidth is increasing, the communication equipment manufacturers and operators will increase their investment in the optical communication network and equipment, thus driving the development of the optical module industry.

The global optical module market keeps a steady growth. According to Ovum’s market share report, the communications market share is expected to grow in 2021. The global market for optical communications reached the US $10.1 billion in 2017 and has been growing rapidly. The market is expected to reach the US $16.6 billion by 2020, with a projected compound growth rate of 18 percent over the next three years.

The development of optical communication technology cannot be separated from the milestone breakthrough of optoelectronic device technology.

In the 1970s, the emergence of the semiconductor laser and low loss optical fiber unlock the doors of optical fiber communication.

In the 1980s, DFB laser technology.

In the 1990s, Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) technology.

In the 2000s, the DWDM technology.

In the 2010s, coherent communication technologies are driving the optical communication system at a rate of 1,000 times per decade in terms of transmission capacity.

How will the optical module industry develop in the future? What are the trends?

In the next three years, the development of optical module technology industry will show the high speed, integration, large bandwidth, small size, and low power consumption.

How will the optical module industry develop in the future?

High Rate

In different application areas, optical modules will be considered both performance and cost of ways to enhance the rate and capacity.

In the Transport Network

At present, 100G DP-QPSK technology has been mature and become the mainstream of transmission network, and the new technology and application not only focus on trunk lines but also gradually sink and extend to Metropolitan Area Network. Metropolitan area networks and data centers will be the fastest growing segment of the market over the next few years.

Above 100G, the 400G and 1T technology has developed steadily. The coding series and the bit rate have been improved further, the modulation code type has been diversified such as the original DP-QPSK, DP-8QAM and DP-16QAM, DP-32QAM and also have DP-64QAM.

At present, the coexistence of multiple codes has not changed, there is no absolute advantage of transmission code.

In the Data Communication

With the explosive growth of bandwidth traffic, the speed of Ethernet interface has far exceeded the speed of physical bandwidth of optoelectronic devices PSM (Space Division Multiplexing), wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM, LAN-WDM, 4WDM), and high-order modulation PAM4 are becoming the trend.

At present, the 100G optical module mainly adopts QSFP28 package. 400G optical transceiver package is the difficulty. The 100G optical module mainly focuses on OSFP and QSFP-DD two multi-source protocols.

In the Fiber Optic Access Networks

The technology can be divided into GPON and EPON in the passive optical network field. With the increasing popularity of FTTX and the rise of high bandwidth applications such as 4K/8k video, VR/AR, users’demand for access bandwidth is increasing.

In the Barrier Networks for 4G/5G

Unlike previous 3G and 4G mobile communications, 5G mobile communications technology is not only an upgrade but also a driving platform for the future digital world and the infrastructure for the development of the Internet of things, which will truly create a new fully connected world. In order to adapt to the large bandwidth, low delay, and mass connection services, new requirements are put forward in the aspects of bandwidth, capacity, delay and network flexibility of 5G bearer network. 5G bearer network architecture is divided into fronthaul, middle-haul and backhaul.

In the 5G transmission network, the line side bandwidth of the core layer and convergence layer is between 100G and 600G. The client interface for 5G access layer equipment needs 10G/25G, and the network interface bandwidth is larger than 25G. In the 5G middle-haul network, the transmission bandwidth is close to the requirement of the backhaul network. In the 5G fronthaul network, the bandwidth is less than 25G with the PRI interface.

Integration

In order to meet the market demand for low power consumption, low cost, high density, and high reliability, the academia, and industry have paid more attention to photonic integration, optoelectronic integration, and silicon-based photonic integration technology. The manufacturing cost of packaging and coupling can be reduced through integration, the suppliers of optoelectronic devices and modules, and the users of operators can reduce the operating cost of equipment power consumption, computer room occupied area, and system opening.

High Bandwidth

The industrialization of ultra-low loss and large effective area optical fiber, the academic research of multi-core and fiber-optic communication technology are all hot spots in recent years. The optical amplifiers, optical connectors, and optical backplanes are also being optimized around the optimization of fiber transmission performance in the field of optoelectronic devices.

Small Size

The smaller size of optical device and module is helpful to reduce the size of the whole machine, increase the bandwidth density of the panel, reduce the area of the machine room and save the operation and maintenance cost. The same rate package becomes smaller, or the same package rate increases. At present, the 100G coherent optical module on the line side has evolved from the original 5″x 7″ fixed installation mode to 4″x 5″, further to CFP-DCO, CFP2-ACO packaging, and lower power consumption. The 400G coherent optical module may be packaged as CFP8-ACO, CFP2-DCO, OSFP or QSFP-DD. The QSFP-DD is the most compact. With the rapid development of the data communication industry chain, the client side packaging will be unified with the digital communication module, such as QSFP28 or 400G OSFP, QSFP-DD package.

Development Trend of Module

With the increasing demand for information processing, the data flow carried by the network is increasing. Internet traffic is bound to increase the demand for bandwidth in optical networks.

The 5G era is coming soon, and it is expected that the 5G networks of various operators will enter the peak period of large-scale construction by 2022. Base station antenna is upgraded from 2 * 2 Mimo to 4 * 4 Mimo, which promotes the upgrade of base station optical module from 6G/10G to 10G/25G/50G. According to Lightcounting, the wireless forward market has grown since 2017, and demand for 25G optical transceiver modules has risen rapidly, reaching a $710 million market segment by 2022, with 10G and 25G being the dominant rates. Gigalight 10G/25G optical modules for 5G fronthaul are available. Especially, Gigalight 25G optical modules adopt self-developed mini-TO and process optimization to reduce cost.

Conclusion

Overall, the global market for optical modules is the largest segment of the optoelectronic device market. According to Ovum’ forecast, the market will continue to grow rapidly and is expected to grow to $11 billion by 2022. The application of 25G optical module has gradually replaced the 10G optical module to become the mainstream. However, 10G will be the replaced option before the mature of 25G. The data center, wireless network, access network, and transmission network have formed the demand resultant force for 25G optical transceiver module, which will be the explosive force of the industry.