Marvell Technology, a key player in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, is set to showcase its cutting-edge 3D Silicon Photonics (SiPho) Engine during this week at the OFC 2024 event in San Diego, California. This innovative SiPho engine, a pioneering advancement in the industry, boasts 32 channels of 200G electrical and optical interfaces. It is aimed at facilitating the connection of next-generation AI clusters and cloud data centers at ultra-high multi-terabit speeds.
The Marvell 3D SiPho engine is a groundbreaking integration of numerous components including waveguides, modulators, photodetectors, modulator drivers, trans-impedance amplifiers, microcontrollers, and various passive elements into a singular device. This amalgamation significantly enhances the performance, bandwidth, and energy efficiency of optical interconnects. The 200 Gbps device offers double the bandwidth, twice the input/output (I/O) bandwidth density, and a 30% reduction in power consumption per bit compared to its counterparts featuring 100 Gbps electrical and optical interfaces.
The convergence of device integration and increased bandwidth input/output (I/O) density paves the way for a diverse range of optical interconnections tailored for various use cases and form factors, spanning from pluggable modules to prospective co-packaged optics (CPO).
Vlad Kozlov, CEO and founder of LightCounting, remarked on the rising momentum of silicon photonics in coherent optical transceivers for interconnecting data centers over extended distances, predicting a substantial growth in shipments nearing 40% until 2028. Dr. Loi Nguyen, executive vice president and general manager of Cloud Optics at Marvell, emphasized the significance of optical interconnect advancements in driving the potential of AI and enhanced infrastructure. Marvell's 3D SiPho engine is strategically devised to facilitate heightened bandwidth, increased I/O density, and reduced power consumption in optical interconnects, aligning with the escalating bandwidth demands of emerging AI services and applications preferred by cloud service providers.
Marvell's groundbreaking 3D SiPho engine represents a significant leap in optical interconnect technology, poised to revolutionize connectivity within data centers and AI clusters, enabling accelerated infrastructure for the future.
