The deployment of 5G networks will enable tremendous advances in communications — 10× more bandwidth and 50× less latency. To achieve such massive improvements, various technologies are being developed at a rapid pace, including devices and components used in data centers, EE Web explains.
One example is optical transceivers, which are responsible for connecting and translating data transmitted via optical fibers into electrical signals within the data center.
In order to cope with the enormous increase in data traffic, the transmission rates of optical modules double or, in some cases, quadruple. In 2020, modules with data rates of 100 Gbps will typically be used. However, the use of 400-Gbps modules is growing rapidly and 800-Gbps modules are currently in development. The 400-Gbps and 800-Gbps networks with higher capacity place higher demands on the optical modules and the oscillators they contain. These devices must have greater functionality with denser designs, lower power per bit, and tighter jitter than their predecessors.
Optical modules are used at every point on the optical backbone — from fronthaul to backhaul — with high-data–rate transceivers that are required in metro networks and data centers.