Microsoft, Facebook Team Up For Embedded Optics Technology
Zacks Investment Research | Mar 17, 2019 11:15PM ET
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) recently initiated Co-Packaged Optics (“CPO”) Collaboration as part of joint Development Foundation. The CPO Collaboration is aimed at providing end-to-end design guidelines and open specifications to suppliers.
The companies expect the guidelines to enable industry suppliers to accelerate manufacturing processes of co-packaged or embedded or on-board optics. Consequently, the final designed package can be embedded into the network switch’s PCB or printed circuit board.
Per the press release, “The collaboration has targeted the 51T switch generation as the tipping point for industry adoption of co-packaged optics.”
Eventually, the companies are aspiring to create a diverse and open design ecosystem with the CPO Collaboration.
To quote, Jeff Cox, executive director of the CPO Collaboration and partner director, Network Architecture, at Microsoft, "As co-founders of the Co-Packaged Optics Collaboration, Microsoft and Facebook invite customers and suppliers to join and collaborate with us."
Further, the CPO Collaboration will review and assess proposals (aimed at bolstering the adoption of open, technical solutions) put forward by optical and switch suppliers.
Optics on Chip: Need of the Hour
Growing hyperscale computing industry calls for the evolution of datacenter infrastructure. As a result, switch hardware designs are increasingly focusing on integrating optical connectivity directly into network-switching ASICs (application-specific integrated circuit).
With an aim to address greater networking demands of cloud service providers (or CSPs), network switch makers are exploring ways to utilize CPO technology.
Notably, Co-packaging or embedding optics directly with ASICs cuts down the length of switch-optic interconnects. This approach provides the industry players with robust cost-efficient interconnect solutions with improved use of silicon and reduced power consumption.
Per HTF data as revealed by MarketWatch, the optical interconnect market is expected to be $16.62 billion by 2023 at a CAGR of 20.9%.
What Investors Should Know?
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