Inphi unveiled a QSFP28 reference design that uses advanced Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM4) signaling to deliver up to 4 Tbps of bandwidth over a single fiber at distances up to 80km. The target application is metro Data Center Interconnect (DCI). Commercial launch date was not specified.
Key features of Inphi’s “ColorZ”:
- QSFP28 form factor supporting 100G Ethernet
- Extended reach up to 80km
- Enables 4Tb/s capacity over a single fiber
- 4.5W power dissipation
- ITU wavelength grid compatible
- “InphiNity” Core DSP Engine with a unique mixed-mode DSP architecture for high performance, low power applications needing adaptability and configurability
- Multiple programmable FEC options with varying levels of pre-FEC BER performance
- Numerous self-test and loopback modes that allow diagnostic monitoring of channel and system parameters
- Eye-scan, samplers and monitors on all receiver interfaces for link margin and stress testing along with GUI and API routines for data and error analytics
“The current gap in the inter-data center interconnects is at the sub 80km segment, which is being supported by 10G solutions today. ColorZ is filling the gap with 100G links matching the rest of the data center network,” said Dr. Loi Nguyen, founder, senior vice president, Optical Interconnect at Inphi. “This demonstrates Inphi’s continued industry leadership, as we build on our technology foundation to dramatically reduce the cost of data movement.”