Broadcom launches industry’s largest portfolio of fiber optics, PHY & switch solutions

Broadcom Inc. has announced the availability of its expanded portfolio of 100Gb, 200Gb, 400Gb, and 800Gb electro-optics platform solutions for data center and cloud networks.

With the introduction of the industry’s first 100Gb PAM-4 VCSEL and multi-mode kit, proven 112Gb PAM-4 PHY with direct-drive technology (and uncooled 100Gb PAM-4 EML capability), the portfolio provides customers with a complete set of solutions to solve the industry’s growing networking bandwidth requirements.

This includes those based on Broadcom’s 12.8-Tbps Tomahawk 3 and 25.6-Tbps Tomahawk 4 switch platforms.

With Broadcom’s full line of end-to-end solutions, data center operators and cloud providers can cost-effectively deploy 100Gb, 200Gb, 400Gb and 800Gb links to expand their network capacity and support growing bandwidth demands.

“Broadcom offers a complete line of PAM-4 PHYs with direct drive capability that reduce power and cost while enhancing the ease of deployment,” said Vijay Janapaty, VP and GM of the Physical Layer Products Division at Broadcom. “Broadcom’s portfolio of optimized solutions for a wide range of optical and line card applications at both 50G/lane and 100G/lane enable customers to rapidly deploy leadership networking solutions to meet the demanding growth of hyperscale cloud data centers.”

The 100G PAM-4 VCSEL Kit and Uncooled EML

More than 10M channels of 50Gb VCSEL deployed in cloud data centers
Complete 100Gb MMF kit including VCSEL, PD, driver, and TIA addressing fast growing cloud demand
Expanding production of uncooled 100Gb EML to meet low power dissipation and system cost requirements for hyper-scale applications
Advanced 200Gb EML optics available in second half of 2021 to address cost and power consumption challenges for next generation 800Gb and 1.6Tb data center applications
New optical components for 4x100Gb MMF kit targeting 400Gb and 800Gb applications:
- VCSEL: AFCD-V84LP
- PD: BPD3056-4
- Driver: AFSI-N94C4S2
- TIA: AFSI-R94C4S2
New optical components for 100Gb/lane SMF kits:
- EML: 283QT1xx for 100/200/400/800Gb application
- TOSA: TX-E1x112-SU131 for 100Gb DR1 application

The 112Gb/56Gb PAM-4 PHY

Industry leading DSP performance and power efficiency enabling MMF and SMF optical transceivers to meet IEEE and all optical module MSA specifications
Client-side interoperability with Broadcom merchant switch devices using proven 28-Gbaud and 56-Gbaud SerDes architecture and flexibility to support either 56-Gb/s or 112-Gb/s PAM-4 physical lanes
Option to support direct drive capability from the PHY for 50-Gb/s per lane and 100-Gb/s per lane eliminating the need for an external laser driver
Key PHY product families
- BCM874xx/871xx — Centenario family with 50-Gb/s per lane client side to 100-Gb/s per lane for optical line side interfaces
- BCM878xx — Portofino family with 100-Gb/s per lane client side and 100-Gb/s per lane for optical line side interfaces
- BCM875xx — Estoque family with 50-Gb/s per lane client side and 50-Gb/s per lane for optical line side interfaces

Broadcom will demonstrate multiple products based on 112Gb PAM-4 PHY with 100Gb PAM-4 EML and 100Gb PAM-4 VCSEL technologies running on Broadcom’s Tomahawk switch platform at the 2021 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) this week, until June 11th.

Additionally, Broadcom is showcasing its latest 100Gb, 200Gb, 400Gb and 800Gb electro-optics platform solutions in the Broadcom OFC Virtual Exhibit.

“Broadcom’s ability to bring 100G VCSELs and uncooled 100G EMLs to market will enable our customers to address two of the most important challenges facing hyperscale operators – power consumption and bandwidth density,” said Alexis Bjorlin, senior VP and GM of the Optical Systems Division at Broadcom. “We are expanding our fab capacities and are continuing to innovate with increased investments in next generation technologies to meet the growing requirements for energy efficient optical interconnects.”