CPO

Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) is concept that has emerged recently embodying many of the advantages of Co-packaged optics (CPO) but simpler to implement. We think that given that CPO technology is still at its earliest stages, we need a ramp up technology to get us to CPO. NPO uses a high-performance PCB substrate—an interposer—that sits on

Pluggable optical modules in the way we have known them are on their way out. Co-packaged Optics is garnering a great deal of attention and while it will largely displace/replace existing concept of pluggables, this won’t happen overnight. This article provides some perspective on the transition away from pluggable optics. Currently the pluggable market remains

While early 2021 was more dramatic in terms of new co-packaged optics (CPO) products, the past year proved to be the period in which CPO took its first baby steps towards the data communications mainstream.  Two important practical developments occurred. One, which we discuss in this article, is the OIF Co-Packaged Optics Framework.  The other

Evolution of CPO in 2021 and Early 2022 Co-packaged optics (CPO) has emerged as technology of considerable interest as a platform for deploying optics in large data centers. A considerable segment of data communications sees CPO as a practical way forward to deploy 800G and above interfaces.  It is recognized by just about everybody in

The demand for co-packaged optics (CPO) will be driven by many factors.  Today, latency-sensitive traffic such as AI and ML is getting a lot of attention.  However, this is mostly because AI and ML is new and exciting, while video is old hat.  Nonetheless, CIR believes that the video revolution is far from over and

Co-packaged Optics standards activity have moved CPO from the realm of discussion closer to real-world adoption: (1) COBO has established a CPO working group. (2) CPO specifications have materialized in the form of the CPO Collaboration Joint Development Forum’s CPO Module product requirements document (PRD). And (3) there is an implementation agreement (IA) from the

Co-packaged optics (CPO) is flavor of the month right now; the question is, what kind of CPO?   There will surely be different form factors for data centers and telecommunications, and interconnects, sensors, and supercomputing. But there will also be different form factors proposed for CPO for within the data center. Based on recent presentations by

The Co-Packaging Framework IA (Implementers Agreement) effort just announced by the OIF is a strong endorsement for co-packaging; a technology platform whose star is in the ascendant. Co-packaging was – as recently as two years ago — considered a futuristic platform, but much attention has been brought to it as the hyperscale data center managers

Co-packaged optics is the ultimate direction for the long-touted “optical integration” meme. In theory, co-packaged optics wraps up active optics and active electronics wrapped to avoid the thermal/power inefficiencies inherent in conventional approaches to high-speed optoelectronics. A few years back when CIR investigated which technology platforms would take data centers into the 400/800G era, we