Tower Semi, Fabrinet, and the Incredible Nvidia 1.6T Transceiver Ramp
Key Points
- Lasers are made on III-V materials (typically Indium Phosphide InP); higher defect rates and cost than silicon, with 2-4 inch wafer sizes
- Two popular laser types: VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting) and DFB (distributed feedback); different use cases and attributes
- VCSEL architecture dominated transceiver market through 100G per lane (800Gbps per module) due to low cost and reduced complexity
- 1.6T transceiver transition (200G per lane, 8 lanes) reveals VCSEL reliability problem; many companies attempting 200G VCSEL will likely fail
- VCSEL being replaced by Externally Modulated Laser (EML) / Continuous Wave (CW) laser systems; two distinct EML types with significant investment implications
Summary
Analysis of transceiver technology evolution from VCSEL-dominant architecture to EML/CW laser systems driven by Nvidia's 1.6T transceiver ramp. Covers laser physics, reliability constraints at higher speeds, and manufacturing considerations for Tower Semi and Fabrinet.
Source
- File:
IR - Tower Semi, Fabrinet, and the Nvidia 1.6T Transceiver Ramp (Aug 25).pdf - Location: Dropbox/2. Semi/Networking/3. CPO-SiPho/
- Pages: 18