The demand on computational infrastructure to process larger data sets is increasing rapidly due to the adoption of AI and ML techniques in many applications. Yet, the designs of current hardware systems are limited by increasing power consumption of processors, switches and interconnects. Interconnect and switching architectures will need to evolve to keep pace with the advances in hardware for AI processing and what role optics will play in this future world is still an open question.
The Growth of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)
The term Co-packaged optics (CPO) is widely used within datacenter technologies. Standard bodies OIF (Optical Internet working Forum) and COBO (Consortium for On-Board Optics) are intensively working on the applications classification and building a consistent terminology. Globally, CPO can be considered as an alternative architecture to the faceplate pluggable model for switching applications and a new architecture enabling optical interconnects for intra-rack applications such as AI training, machine learning and disaggregation. The objective of CPO is to move the electro-optic conversion processes as close as possible to the switch ASIC die in order to achieve higher bandwidth and energy efficiency, which are the challenges facing pluggable optical transceivers today. With all the innovations and discussion surrounding CPO, the industry is also looking for a new generation of reliable connector solution, one of which is expanded beam connector.
What is an Expanded Beam Connector (EBC)?
Conventional fiber optics rely on physical contact between fibers for data transmission and are highly sensitive to contamination from dust to and other debris, which reduces connector performance. Expanded Beam connectors are an innovative approach that expands that light beam between connectors and removes the need for physical contact, reducing the connector’s sensitivity to dust and the need for frequent cleaning.
EBCs are used in military, mining, and other field operations for their strength against dust and other particles interfering with data transmission. Their high bandwidth density also makes them an ideal connector for High-Performance Computers (HPC). High bandwidth density and resilience to dust have made EBCs the next-generation solution for data transmission, particularly in co-packaged optics.
The key component that controls data transmission performance in an EBC is the lens ferrule, which aligns the fiber to the lens. Precision lens ferrules can be mass-produced in high volume by plastic injection molding. Injection-molded ferrules offer stable performance after repeated mating cycles, low insertion and return loss, and low sensitivity to dust.
Your Manufacturing Partner for Sensitive Optics
Enplas is a leader in supplying plastic lenses that enable reliable, super high-speed light transmission with minimum data loss serving the most demanding cutting-edge tech companies.
Enplas offers supportive, all-inclusive, one-stop high-quality services from plastic lens design, prototyping, ramp-up, and mass production to quality assurance. We work with your engineers throughout development and manufacturing to provide solutions to any optical problems that arise.
Contact us to learn more.