II-VI Incorporated and Samtec presented a new 56 Gbps PAM4 per channel demonstration of the next-generation Samtec FireFly on-board optical engine technology at OFC 2019. II-VI’s recently announced high speed VCSELs are embedded within the FireFly system architecture.

The demonstration platform showcases low latency, high performance, on-board optical engines transmitting at 56 Gbps PAM4 per channel. The FireFly Micro Flyover System copper and optical options offer a direct connection into the ASIC/FPGA package bypassing the PCB for improved density and performance. The latest FireFly solutions are compatible with new generation FPGAs that support 56G PAM4 transceivers.

Samtec’s FireFly mid-board optical engines offer system designers flexibility and performance advantages compared to pluggable optical transceivers. FireFly features multiple optical front panel interconnect options. FireFly’s compact footprint is 4x smaller than the standard quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) module size and uses the same micro connector for both optical and copper cable assemblies. FireFly has the industry’s best-in-class optics, enabling 56 Gbps PAM4 that consumes only a few pico-joules of energy per bit.

II-VI’s 4-channel VCSEL arrays can be modulated at 56 Gbps PAM4 to achieve a combined 200 Gbps over short reach multimode links. AOCs and transceivers based on VCSELs offer the most cost-effective solution for datacenter links that span from 10 to 300 meters.

OFC, Mar. 5-7, 2019, San Diego Convention Center

II-VI will showcase at Booth #4312 new products that enable the 5G optical infrastructure, hyperscale datacenters, 3D sensing and LiDAR. The 56 Gbps PAM4 FireFly demonstration can be seen at Samtec’s Booth #2500. For more information on the FireFly Micro Flyover System, please visit www.samtec.com/firefly or e-mail FireFly@samtec.com.