Avago unveils first optical transceiver platform with 14-Gbps per lane performance

OFC/NFOEC 2011, LOS ANGELES, USA: Avago Technologies has announced sample availability for two new fiber-optic transceivers with 14.025-Gbps throughput per lane here at the 2011 Optical Fiber Conference (OFC).

The new SFP+ transceiver addresses 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel switches, host bus adapters, RAID controllers and tape drives, as well as inter-switch and inter-chassis aggregated links. The four-channel QSFP+ transceiver targets switch and router interconnects for data communications and telecommunications, data aggregation and backplane applications, and proprietary protocol and high-density link applications. The modules are the first in the Avago 14-Gbps optical transceiver platform, offering increased port-density for systems compared to 8-Gbps Fibre Channel optics.

“Avago leverages a unique collection of core technology and design expertise to bring new performance standards and innovative form-factors first to market, as is the case with our 14-Gbps platform,” said Victor Krutul, director of marketing for the Fiber Optics Products Division at Avago. “Our new 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel SFP+ and four-channel QSFP+ modules are already winning designs with top systems manufacturers in high-density applications. We are looking to build on this early success by adding more new solutions to our 14-Gbps platform.”

Avago is exhibiting its new 14-Gbps modules, in addition to other high-speed optical fiber solutions, at OFC in booth number 2001 at the Los Angeles Convention Center from March 8-10, and more information on the portfolio is available at www.avagotech.com/pages/en/fiber_optics/.

The new transceivers incorporate the unparalleled reliability of Avago 850-nm Vertical-Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology and PIN detector technology. This combination insures that the multi-rate SFP+ module is compliant with FC-PI-5 and 16/8.5/4.25 Gigabit Fibre Channel specifications. The SFP+ module’s transmitter and receiver can operate at different data rates, as is often required during Fibre Channel speed negotiation.

The hot-pluggable QSFP+ module is compliant with the QSFP+ SFF-8436 specification. The QSFP+ transceiver reduces power dissipation per lane by 50 percent compared to 8-Gbps Fibre Channel technology. The Avago 14-Gbps platform has the potential to address Infiniband FDR applications as well.