Acacia Communications is expanding its client optics portfolio with the introduction of a new 3nm Kibo 1.6Tbps PAM4 DSP and a family of 200G-per-lane silicon photonic optical engines, specifically designed for the high-bandwidth and low-power demands of next-generation AI workloads. The new Kibo DSP is optimized for power efficiency, achieving more than a 20% power reduction compared to current 1.6T implementations. It supports gearbox, retimer, and Transmit Retimed Optics (TRO) configurations, enabling versatile deployment in DR4, DR8, and 2xFR4 pluggable modules, compliant with industry-standard OSFP and QSFP-DD form factors.
Acacia’s new 200G-per-lane Optical Engine family leverages the company’s proven silicon photonics expertise and addresses a wide range of applications, including DR4, DR8, and 2xFR4 configurations. The Optical Engine product line offers separate transmit and receive components, flexible driver configurations, and integrated transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) for enhanced performance. Acacia has already established significant momentum in client optics, having shipped more than one million 100G-per-lane optical engines in the past year, demonstrating their capability as a high-volume silicon photonics supplier.
“Client optics represents an exciting opportunity to leverage Acacia’s deep expertise in DSP and silicon photonics,” stated Benny Mikkelsen, SVP and General Manager at Acacia. “With the explosive growth of AI-driven bandwidth demands, scaling our client optics business to deliver innovative 200G-per-lane solutions is perfectly timed to meet market needs.”
Acacia’s expanded client optics portfolio is backed by Cisco’s commitment to support ongoing development, supply, and customer service, ensuring consistent availability and reliability as hyperscale data center deployments accelerate.
• Acacia announces 3nm Kibo 1.6Tbps PAM4 DSP optimized for AI infrastructure with over 20% power reduction.
• 200G-per-lane silicon photonics Optical Engine products support DR4, DR8, and 2xFR4 applications.
• Products leverage Acacia’s proven high-volume silicon photonics expertise.
• Cisco provides ongoing commitment to development, supply, and service of Acacia’s expanded client optics portfolio.
• Acacia introduced the industry’s first coherent pluggable module, a 100G CFP, in 2014.
• Acacia has shipped over 500,000 ports of its 400G coherent modules featuring the Greylock DSP. This includes more than 25,000 Bright 400ZR+ ports deployed globally.
• Demonstrations scheduled for OFC 2025.
“With AI-driven demand surging, Acacia’s entry into high-speed client optics components leverages its impressive track record in silicon photonics and DSP technology,” noted Vladimir Kozlov, Founder and CEO at LightCounting.
- PAM4 DSPs encode data using Pulse Amplitude Modulation with four signal levels, effectively doubling throughput compared to traditional NRZ modulation. Acacia’s silicon photonics integrate optical functions onto silicon chips, enabling higher density, lower power, and reduced costs—ideal for demanding data center and AI interconnects.
