Marvell releases 1.6T ZR/ZR+ Pluggable and 2nm coherent DSPs

Technologies and Products

Semiconductor solutions developer Marvell Technologies has introduced the industry’s first 1.6T ZR/ZR+ data centre interconnect (DCI) pluggable and 2nm coherent DSPs featuring media access control security (MACsec).

The innovations expand on the company’s multi-generational ZR/ZR+ and coherent DSP technology portfolio and are set to securely scale AI data centre connectivity

The Marvell® COLORZ® 1600 is the industry’s first 1.6T ZR/ZR+ pluggable, powered by Marvell Electra, the industry’s first 2nm 1.6T ZR/ZR+ coherent DSP. Marvell also introduced Libra, the industry’s first 2nm 800G ZR/ZR+ coherent DSP, which enables a lower-power, second-generation COLORZ 800 pluggable.

The new products, now with MACsec, expand the company’s extensive coherent DSP and COLORZ pluggable portfolios, delivering efficient, high-performance and secure optical transmission for hyperscale AI and cloud data centre networks worldwide.

As distributed AI workloads accelerate traffic between data centres, ZR/ZR+ connectivity has become essential for scaling networks that require high bandwidth, low power and built-in security. Coherent pluggable demand is expected to surge through 2030, yet this specialized technology requires deep expertise and the ability to rapidly scale manufacturing.

“Marvell, in close collaboration with hyperscale customers, introduced the first ZR pluggable nearly a decade ago and has continued to set the pace for every generation of coherent technology,” said Russ Esmacher, senior vice president and general manager, Data Center Interconnect at Marvell. “However, technology leadership is only one part of the equation. Meeting the global needs of AI-driven data centres requires proven, large-scale manufacturing strength, from resource planning to test capacity. We are expanding our pluggable manufacturing capacity to help customers rapidly deploy the latest disruptive technologies to scale their networks.”

“The size of the pluggable coherent market is massive but increasingly competitive. Maintaining leadership requires power efficiency, critical features and high-volume manufacturability,” said Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst at Cignal AI. “Marvell has a proven track record of consistently delivering first-to-market advancements across multiple generations of coherent DSPs, and the company’s move to 2nm solutions underscores its commitment to density, performance and power.”

Marvell COLORZ 1600, with the Electra coherent DSP, connects campus (20km), metro (120km) and regional (1,000km) data centres at 1.6T. It supports in-chip MACsec security, full interoperability across OIF, OpenZR+ and OpenROADM modes, and C and L bands in the OSFP form factor while significantly reducing power per bit compared to existing solutions.

Powered by the new Libra coherent DSP, COLORZ 800 now enables cloud operators to secure scale-across interconnects between metro data centres up to 1,000km apart at 800G, and between regional data centres up to 2,000km apart at 600G and up to 3,000km apart at 400G. Supporting full interoperability across OIF, OpenZR+ and OpenROADM modes, and available for both C and L bands in QSFP-DD or OSFP form factors, COLORZ 800 significantly reduces DCI capital costs compared to traditional systems.

Marvell Electra and Libra coherent DSPs and COLORZ 1600 and the Libra DSP-enabled COLORZ 800 pluggables are expected to begin sampling to customers in the second half of 2026.