Semtech intros 112G PAM4 portfolio for data centres

Technologies and Products

Semtech Corporation has launched its new CopperEdge™ product portfolio for use in next generation 400G (4x100G) and 800G (8x100G) data centre interconnects using copper cable and backplane interconnects. The first product in the new portfolio, the GN8112, is a quad channel 112Gbps PAM4 linear equaliser and is the first product sampling in the portfolio.

The company says that next generation data centre interconnects transition to 112Gbps PAM4 per lane to meet higher bandwidth and throughput demands, passive copper cables can only enable reaches of up to 1.5 meters. This severely limits the use cases of passive copper cables in data centres at 112Gbps and has created a strong demand for active copper cables (ACCs) that extend the copper cable reaches to allow for the high-volume switch-to-server connections.

The CopperEdge™ GN8112 is designed to enable low cost, manufacturable ACCs that can deliver reaches of up to five meters over a copper twinaxial (Twinax) cable assembly. This reach extension enables ACCs to service the large volume 400G and 800G data centre interconnects while offering ultra-low power (<0.75 Watt per 400G) and ultra-low latency (<10ps).

“Building upon Semtech’s outstanding high-speed signal integrity expertise, the new CopperEdge™ product portfolio continues to offer valuable solutions that our customers need to meet current and future market demands, starting with the sampling release of the CopperEdge™ GN8112 quad linear equaliser,” said Julius Yam, market manager data centre products for Semtech’s Signal Integrity Products Group. “The GN8112 can extend copper cable reaches up to five meters at 112Gbps PAM4 data rates with ultra-low power and latency, as needed in Cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications. In addition, the GN8112 can also be used in backplane and onboard applications to extend the trace lengths of interconnects for reliable high-speed communication between two end points.”

The CopperEdge™ GN8112 is now available for sampling. Semtech also offers ACC Reference Design Kits (RDKs) for the GN8112 to enable rapid adoption of Semtech’s solution. Live demonstrations of the products will be available at CIOE and ECOC 2022.

For more information, visit www.semtech.com