Fiber is required to deliver low latency, which is crucial for a 5G fronthaul between the base station and the core network. Several fiber options can increase installation density and/or flexibility in this fronthaul. Common choices include bend-insensitive fiber (BIF), OM5 fiber, ultra-low-loss (ULL) fiber, and reduced-diameter fiber. Each offers different performance tradeoffs for specific…
Co-packaged optics: higher data rates increase reliability risks
EE World discussed with GlobalFoundries’ Anthony Yu trends and tradeoffs in co-packaged optics and silicon photonics resulting from the rising data demand that AI thrusts upon us. It’s coming down to speed versus reliability, at least for now.
AI, silicon photonics push networks and test
EE World spoke with Sarah Boen, Director of Technology and ASIC Strategy at Tektronix, who spoke at a panel session on how AI and silicon photonics are changing networks and the challenges facing test engineers and reliability engineers. In OFC 2024: It’s AI or die, EE World reported on how the data generated by AI…
How coherent optical engines send and receive network data
By Paul Momtahan, Infinera Learn about the components inside a coherent optical engine, what they do, and how they use modulation to send and receive data. Optical communications over metro, long-haul, and submarine networks once used simple direct-detect technology. That’s no longer the case. Demand for higher-speed optical connections has brought on complex modulations and…
How IEEE 802.3df brings 800G Ethernet to life
By Steve Rumsby, Spirent Communications When is a standard not a standard? This is a technical rather than metaphysical question, though the answer has implications well beyond technology. In the communications business, waiting for a formal technical standard to publish can seem like forever. As a result, industry groups develop their own interim standards to…
OFC 2024: Network equipment
The infrastructure of data communications networks needs lots of fiber, semiconductors, and network equipment to bring data to the masses. Optical data networks form the backbone of today’s communications. Data centers, which seem to dominate any discussion of digital communications, depend heavily on fiber-optic connections from a few meters to many kilometers. Getting those bits…
OFC 2024: It’s AI or die
Today’s data rates are already too slow, and so are tomorrow’s. Expect more complaints about slow networks in 2025.
Ethernet turned 50 in 2023, what’s next?
EE World interviewed John D’Ambrosia, who told a few stories from earlier times and gave a peek at what’s coming next from the IEEE 802.3 set of standards.
What’s the difference between an Ethernet extender and a media converter?
Extend the reach of Ethernet by converting the signals to different electrical or optical signals. Ethernet extenders and media converters can both be used to expand network coverage. Extenders operate over unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or coaxial cabling, while media converters change the signals from electrical to optical and back. Extenders and media converters can…
How do SFP, SFP+, and QSFP compare?
Pluggable modules come in many variants, each designed for a specific purpose. Small form factor pluggable (SPF) technology was developed to support high-speed interconnects between servers, storage, and communications equipment in data centers and similar environments. Over time, the multi-source agreement (MSA) that specifies SPF has evolved to include new formats, including SFP, SFP+, SFP28,…