Broadcom launches low-power transceiver technology

Broadcom Inc. announced the availability of its 5nm 200G/lane optical PAM-4 DSP PHY, the Sian BCM85822, at the 49^th European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2023).

The new BCM85822 features 200G/lane serial optical interfaces, which enable optical transceiver manufacturers to cost-effectively deliver 800G and 1.6T pluggable modules and meet the growing bandwidth needs and low power consumption requirements of hyperscale data centers.

Sian BCM85822 features

Monolithic 5nm 800G (8:4) PAM-4 DSP with integrated laser driver
Delivers best-in-class module performance in BER and power consumption
Proven interoperability with Broadcom’s 200G EML
Compliant to all IEEE and OIF standards, capable of supporting MR links on the chip to module electrical interface
Supports optical modules from 800G to 1.6T
Supports IEEE-compliant (128,120) Hamming Inner Code

Given the increasing bandwidth demands from AI-driven workloads in hyperscale data centers, deploying 1.6T OSFP-XD transceiver modules would double the bandwidth capacity per 1RU without changing the existing infrastructure.

The BCM85822 is optimized for the 1.6T OSFP-XD transceiver module design and would effectively enable 51.2T switching capacity in a 1RU rack to improve bandwidth density in hyperscale data centers. Further, the adoption of 200G/lane optical interfaces lays the foundation for the eventual deployment of 1.6 and 3.2T solutions with 200G/lane electrical interfaces — which are needed for cloud providers to support next generation switches and scale AI workloads.

“This latest generation of DSP operating at 200G/lane extends Broadcom’s leadership in high-bandwidth PHY and enables the lowest power optical modules in the industry,” said Vijay Janapaty, GM and VP of the Physical Layer Products Division at Broadcom. “This, in turn, lays the foundation for next generation switching platforms for AI/ML clusters and networks.”

For more information on how Broadcom’s 200G/lane optical solutions drive next-generation networks, read Broadcom’s blog here.