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ADVA Optical Networking Pioneers New Silicon Photonics Consortium
March 2016 by Emmanuelle Lamandé
ADVA Optical Networking announced that it is leading the Silicon Photonics Enabling Exascale Data Networks (SPEED) project.
The project creates a platform for development, manufacturing and packaging of application-specific electro-photonic integrated circuits (ePICs) in silicon. ePICs combine electronic and optical functions on a single semiconductor chip. Target applications are board-mounted optical transceivers for ultra-high-speed data center interconnects. ADVA Optical Networking is coordinating the project and also playing a key role in the transceiver development and design.
The SPEED project, which is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), began in November 2015 and is set to run for three years. Project partners include AEMtec, Finetech, Fraunhofer HHI and IZM, Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP), Paderborn University, Ranovus, Sicoya, TU Berlin, and Vertilas. Using a common framework, the project will develop two next-generation 400Gbit/s board-mount optical transceivers: a four wavelength direct-detect solution for intra-data center and a single-wavelength tunable coherent device for inter-data center interconnects. The innovative approach that the SPEED consortium is pursuing will help the industry tackle critical issues concerning cost efficiency, power consumption and thermal management.
