NeoPhotonics, Inphi demo 400ZR optical transceiver interoperability at 120 km

The demonstration, which paired Inphi’s COLORZ II QSFP-DD with a ClearLight OSFP module from NeoPhotonics, saw successful operation across the C-Band over an amplified distance of 120 km.

Inphi and NeoPhotonics say they have successfully demonstrated interoperability between their respective 400ZR optical transceivers. The demonstration, which paired Inphi’s COLORZ II QSFP-DD with a ClearLight OSFP module from NeoPhotonics, saw successful operation across the C-Band over an amplified distance of 120 km.

The demonstration included transmission over multiple wavelengths, say the companies. Arista 7060 data center switches were used as enabling platforms. The COLORZ II coherent optical transceiver leverages Inphi’s Canopus 7-nm coherent DSP. So too, it turns out, does NeoPhotonics’ ClearLight OSFP.

“NeoPhotonics has worked closely with Inphi to combine their Canopus DSP with our high-performance laser and coherent optics into standards-based ClearLight OSFP and QSFP-DD transceiver modules that can meet the needs of our hyper-scale customers,” said Marc Stiller, vice president of coherent modules for NeoPhotonics. “Supporting the interoperable CFEC standard, as defined by OIF, has been a critical part of our design effort, and we’re very pleased to announce this milestone as we continue to work with customers to implement this game-changing technology.”

OIF released the 400ZR Implementation Agreement this past Spring (see “OIF releases 400ZR optical interface Implementation Agreement”). It contains specifications for an interoperable coherent optical transceiver for 400-Gbps applications, principally data center interconnect and metro. Inphi and NeoPhotonics were among the first module vendors to announce 400ZR pluggables.

“We are very excited about the successful interoperable demonstration with NeoPhotonics to bring pluggable 400G coherent optics into the data center,” said Josef Berger, AVP of marketing, optical interconnect at Inphi. “This demonstration proves the readiness to deliver the flexibility of high-bandwidth DWDM connectivity between data centers with the ability to rapidly scale capacity and meet our customers’ demands for standards-based pluggable coherent solutions.”