CPO Optoelectronic Co-packaging:High-speed Communications

1. Technical principles and core advantages

2. Market development

3. Technical challenges

Conclusion

With the explosive growth of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and 5G, global data traffic has increased exponentially, and the power consumption and bandwidth bottlenecks of traditional optical modules have gradually emerged. In this context, optoelectronic co-packaging (Co-packaged Optics, CPO), as a revolutionary optoelectronic integration technology, is becoming a key solution for the upgrade and transformation of data centers and communication networks. By packaging the optical engine and the switching chip together on the same socket, the transmission distance of the electrical signal on the PCB board is greatly shortened, the routing difficulty is reduced, the power consumption and cost are significantly reduced, and higher transmission rates and densities are supported at the same time, which has outstanding advantages in data center application scenarios.

1. Technical principles and core advantages

The core of CPO lies in optoelectronic co-packaging, that is, by integrating the optical engine (Optical Engine) with the switching chip, the conversion of optical signals and electrical signals is completed directly at the chip level, eliminating the transfer of the optical module and reducing the overall latency of the system. Compared with traditional pluggable optical modules, CPO's technological breakthroughs are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Improve the quality of electrical signals: The optical engine is integrated with the switching chip, shortening the transmission path of electrical signals, reducing high-speed signal loss, ensuring the integrity of high-speed electrical signals, and reducing system latency

Reducing system power consumption: High-integration PCB wiring is short, signal attenuation is small, and high-power drive is not required, and system power consumption can be reduced by 25%-30%.

Adapt to future needs: CPO packaging is designed for high-speed transmission. Compared with OSFP packaging and QSFP-DD packaging, it has significant advantages in high-speed scenarios, especially 800G and above.

2. Market development

AI computing power demand and data center network upgrades are the two core driving forces for the development of CPO. AI is at the forefront of the current era and is a huge investment red ocean. The foundation of this red ocean is AI computing power, and the high-speed channel of AI computing power-data center network, restricts the development and computing of AI. The upgrade of data center network is an urgent matter for leading high-tech AI companies to promote the upgrade of data centers.

These large-scale potential demands have greatly promoted the research and development and product iteration of the CPO market, and also stimulated the enthusiasm of manufacturers for research and development. At present, the lower-level technology NPO switch of CPO has entered the commercial stage. In the near future, CPO equipment will also enter major data centers, adding a boost to the development of AI.

3. Technical challenges

Despite the broad prospects, CPO still faces multiple challenges:

Technical bottlenecks: Problems such as on-chip light source and waveguide loss of silicon photonics technology have not been completely solved, and the industry standardization process is lagging behind. The realization of CPO is highly dependent on silicon photonics technology, and the difficulty of silicon photonics technology restricts the development of CPO.

Cost and compatibility: CPO is a non-pluggable design with poor compatibility with equipment. Once a compatibility problem occurs, it cannot be solved by replacing the optical module, and it is difficult to operate and maintain in the later stage. In addition, domestic data centers are still dominated by 400G pluggable optical modules. The software and hardware costs of 800G and above solutions are high, and the acceptance of enterprises is limited.

Supply chain maturity: Although domestic companies have made breakthroughs in optical engines, MPO connectors and other links, the overall technology accumulation still lags behind international giants such as Broadcom and Intel. The supply chain cannot be fully opened, resulting in the inability to reduce costs.

Conclusion

CPO technology is not only an innovation in the field of optical communications, but also an infrastructure revolution in the era of AI and computing power. With the breakthrough of silicon photonic materials and industrial chain collaboration, CPO is expected to achieve a key leap from technology verification to commercial realization in the next five years. For Chinese companies, seizing the technological turning point and breaking through the bottleneck of core components will be the key to participating in global competition. Looking to the future, YXFiber will continue to deepen technology research and development, consolidate core competitiveness, and strive to contribute to the vigorous development of the optical communication market. As practitioners in the field of optical modules, we look forward to seizing opportunities in the evolution of CPO technology, promoting innovation, and bringing new breakthroughs and opportunities to the industry.