Widespread deployment of 5G networks will enable tremendous advancements in connectivity and communications, increasing bandwidth 10-fold and reducing latency by 50 times, Everything RF reports.
Achieving such massive improvements at scale requires rapid evolution of equipment and components used in datacenters. Optical transceivers, responsible for connecting and translating data carried over optical fiber into electrical signals within datacenters, are a prime example of rapidly evolving devices.
To handle huge increases in data traffic driven by 5G, optical module transmission rates are doubling and, in some cases, quadrupling. While 100 gigabit per second (Gbps) data rate modules were commonly used in 2020, 400 Gbps module deployment is rapidly increasing, and 800 Gbps modules are now in development. Higher-capacity 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps networks are placing greater demands on optical modules and the oscillators within them. These timing devices must provide greater functionality with denser designs, lower power per bit, and tighter jitter than their predecessors.