Marvell Leads with First 800 Gbps Optical Module and 3D Silicon Photonics at Tech Showcase

Marvell Technology, Inc MRVL is braced to showcase multiple product offerings at OFC 2024, including probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS), 3D Silicon Photonics Engine, 5nm 800 Gbps transmit-only PAM4 optical DSP, and 1.6 Tbps PAM4 optical DSP.

Marvell will present the first 800 Gbps ZR/ZR+ pluggable module with probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) at OFC 2024, marking a significant advancement in data center interconnects. This groundbreaking demonstration will feature a network with Marvell’s Teralynx 10 switch and its 800 Gbps ZR/ZR+ modules. 

Also Read: Marvell’s Latest Tech Leap with TSMC – A 2nm Chip Platform Set to Transform AI Infrastructure

PCS, a cutting-edge modulation technology, enhances performance by continuously adjusting coherent signal modulation to maximize transmission capacity or reduce spectrum and energy usage. This enables optical fibers to nearly reach the Shannon Limit, significantly boosting the COLORZ 800 module’s reach from 500km to 1000km at full bandwidth. 

This week, Marvell is set to showcase its 3D Silicon Photonics (SiPho) Engine, marking the industry’s premiere of a SiPho engine that integrates 32 channels with 200G electrical and optical interfaces. This innovation will enable multi-terabit speed connections between AI clusters and cloud data centers. The Marvell 3D SiPho engine, a technological breakthrough, consolidates numerous components—like waveguides, modulators, photodetectors, and more—into a single apparatus, significantly enhancing optical interconnects’ performance, bandwidth, and energy efficiency. With a 200 Gbps capacity, the device offers double the bandwidth and input/output density and a 30% reduction in power per bit compared to its 100 Gbps counterparts. 

Marvell unveiled the Spica Gen2-T, marking the industry’s introduction of a 5nm 800 Gbps transmit-only PAM4 optical Digital Signal Processor (DSP). This innovation, tailored for transmit retimed optical modules (TRO modules), is set to revolutionize power efficiency in 800 Gbps optical modules by slashing more than 40% of power consumption. It maintains compatibility with standard optical modules and IEEE 802.3-compliant host devices.

The growing demands of cloud computing and AI have prompted service providers to seek enhancements in their optical interconnect networks, necessitating higher bandwidth optical modules to integrate increasing accelerators into single compute nodes.

Marvell addresses this challenge by consistently lowering power and cost per bit across its optical DSP generations. It offers solutions tailored to specific operational needs, emerging applications, or new module categories like TRO modules. 

Marvell introduced the Marvell Nova 2, a 1.6 Tbps PAM4 optical Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that stands as the industry’s first with 200 Gbps electrical and optical interfaces. This innovation addressed the growing performance requirements in accelerated infrastructure, generative AI, and high-performance computing sectors.

Additionally, Marvell has made its pioneering Nova optical DSP, which boasts a capacity of 1.6 Tbps and features 100 Gbps electrical and 200 Gbps optical interfaces announced last year, generally available. The company will showcase the significant advancement in optical connectivity at OFC 2024 in San Diego, California.

The 1.6T Nova optical DSPs mark a significant leap in optical connectivity, enabling the creation of optical modules in various industry-standard form factors. These modules can double the bandwidth of the existing 800 Gbps versions, facilitating a shift towards 200G interfaces. By enhancing the bandwidth of optical modules and interfaces, these DSPs allow for a substantial increase in network traffic management within the exact physical dimensions, offering a scalable way to enhance infrastructure capacity and optimize investment returns.

The stock gained over 60% in the past year. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via IShares U.S. Digital Infrastructure And Real Estate ETF IDGT and Spear Alpha ETF SPRX. 

Price Action: MRVL shares traded lower by 0.70% at $66.04 on the last check Monday.

Also Read: Broadcom, Marvell Face Stock Dips Despite High Hopes in AI Chip Sector

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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