100Gbps Optical Transceiver Market Expands Due to Surge in Mobile Traffic
Maxim SFP28 Transceiver IC Supports Mass Production of SFP28 Modules for Data Centers

The increasing demand for smart devices due to the spread of the Internet of Things (IoT) will inevitably lead to an increase in mobile data traffic.

Cisco projected that mobile data traffic would increase tenfold to 292 EB (exabytes) by 2019. This is due to the increase in mobile users, faster mobile connection frequency and network speeds, and the explosive growth in video usage in mobile environments.

Accordingly, data center optical links have been coping with the surge in traffic using 100G-class ultra-high-speed optical network technology. This is also the reason why the commercialization of 100Gb/s optical transceivers is progressing rapidly now that the 100G Ethernet technology standard has been completed.



Unlike existing 10Gbps and 40Gbps optical transceivers, 100Gbps optical transceivers require the interface, operation, and control of ultra-high-speed optical and electrical signals. Currently commercialized or scheduled to be commercialized, 100G-class long-distance optical transceivers (OIF-MSA-100GLH) and 100G-class short-distance Ethernet optical transceivers (CFP series, CXP, CPAK, QSFP28) are solutions that address these issues.

Representative products of 100G-class short-distance Ethernet optical transceivers, such as the CFP series and SFP28, are rapidly evolving while improving size and power consumption. In particular, the SFP28 has significantly reduced volume and pin count compared to the CFP, and design has been simplified through operation and control via I2C.

Recently, the industry's first SFP28 transceiver IC supporting transistor outline (TO)-can, which Maxim (www.maximintegrated.co.kr) announced it would mass-produce, is a case that has achieved notable results in terms of the production cost of optical transceiver modules.

The Maxim SFP28 transceiver IC focuses on three problems that designers may encounter when entering mass production: low-cost optical implementation, shortened time-to-market, and reduced production costs.

First, the Maxim SFP28 transceiver supports advanced Digital Eye Tuning capabilities that utilize inexpensive TO-CAN-based optics. The SFP28 module can be designed simply in the same way as an SFP+ module by using TO-CAN optics, a single transceiver IC, and a controller IC.

In addition, module manufacturers for data center and wireless fronthaul applications do not need to install drivers within the Transmit Optical Subassembly (TOSA) by applying this IC. In addition, it can protect sensitive lasers from heat and simplify the production process to increase profitability.

Finally, SFP28 optical modules must support high performance, low power consumption, and a wide temperature operating range at a lower price than existing SFP+ modules, and Maxim's 28.1Gbps low-power transceiver IC is equipped with a CDR (clock and data recovery circuit) and a laser driver in the transmit path, and a high-sensitivity limiting amplifier and a CDR in the receive path.

With the expansion of smart devices in the future, the 100Gb/s optical transceiver market is expected to grow, leading to increased interest in optical transceivers. Consequently, enhanced system integration and low power consumption will emerge as key operational directions for data centers. Furthermore, if considering mass production with production cost reduction in mind, solutions that simplify design for low-cost optical implementation should be prioritized.