PCI-SIG has introduced a major specification update enabling PCI Express (PCIe) over optical fiber, marking the first standardized optical interconnect solution for the widely used interface. The new Optical Aware Retimer Engineering Change Notice (ECN) updates both the PCIe 6.4 and PCIe 7.0 specifications to support PCIe-compatible optical links—targeting AI, cloud, and hyperscale data center deployments where extended reach and high bandwidth are increasingly critical.
The Optical Aware Retimer ECN allows seamless optical connectivity between Switch, Root Complex, and Endpoint silicon, while enabling key features such as extended reach across racks and pods, signal multiplexing across electrical and optical domains, and compact form factors compared to traditional copper-based implementations. This new modular approach is expected to accelerate adoption of optical I/O in PCIe-based infrastructure, particularly in applications demanding high throughput and low latency across large physical footprints.
With this update, PCI-SIG provides a foundational building block for ecosystem-wide adoption of PCIe over optics—supporting interoperability and deployment across vendors and implementations. PCI-SIG encourages hardware developers and system architects to participate in technical working groups to further evolve optical PCIe solutions for broader use in high-performance computing and beyond.
• PCI-SIG introduces Optical Aware Retimer ECN for PCIe 6.4 and 7.0
• Enables industry’s first standards-based PCIe optical interconnect
• Targets data center, AI/ML, and cloud applications requiring extended reach
• Supports multiplexing and mapping between electrical and optical domains
• PCI-SIG members can access the updated specification now
“We saw a need for an industry standard optical interconnect based on PCIe technology and the Optical Aware Retimer ECN is the first step to add a modular optical solution,” said Al Yanes, PCI-SIG President and Chairperson.