This report identifies the opportunities for next generation transceivers in data communications and telecommunications. Although the longer-term future of transceivers may be found in co-packaged optics, much of the next-generation transceiver space – consisting of the latest transceivers that are now appearing for the data center, access and metro space – are very much in the pluggable tradition.
Increasingly a transceiver is no longer just a transmitter plus receiver with some simple electronics thrown in. Instead, next-generation transceivers will be smart modules appropriately designed to simplify network architecture and enable more flexible network configurations. These innovations are being designed with an expected surge of high-data rate, latency-sensitive traffic in mind. Pluggability plays an important role in this design work, as will coherent optics and high data rates. The source of such traffic will be AI, machine learning (ML), and virtual reality traffic. Such traffic is only just beginning to appear on the network, but the network is being re-architected today with the traffic of tomorrow clearly in mind and next-generation transceivers.
This report analyzes the technical changes that CIR expects to in transceivers, as well expected changes in the transceiver supply chain. The report begins with a survey of the key emerging technical trends, discussing especially the coming market for 800G pluggables and the spread of coherent communications across the entire network. The report also examines some of the interesting new MSAs that will impact transceiver design going forward and the role that silicon photonics will play. The report is targeted towards OEMs, third-party transceiver suppliers, network managers and, of course, transceiver manufacturers themselves.