MaxLinear showcases 400G transceivers for interconnecting high-capacity, hyperscale data centers

MaxLinear is showcasing a Molex LLC 400G-DR4 optical module based on the MaxLinear Telluride (MxL9354x) pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) digital signal processor (DSP) at the China International Optoelectronics Expo (CIOE). The 400G-DR4 optical module on display is the latest addition to Molmoly's complete data center connectivity product family, providing solutions for optical interconnect applications at all levels of the data center.

MaxLinear's MxL9354x Telluride series of System-on-chip (SOCs) is a key component for deploying hyperscale data centers based on 100Gbps single-λ optical interconnects. With this technology, Molex is able to build 400Gbps high-performance optical modules in the form of compact QSFP-DD for internal data center applications, meeting the stringent performance and interoperability requirements of the next generation of hyperscale data centers.

Drew Guckenberger, group vice president of optical Interconnect at MaxLinear, said: "With the exponential growth of data traffic in hyperscale cloud networks, the demand for high-speed interconnect volumes continues to increase, and Telluride-based 400Gbps transceiver modules are a key enabler for current and next-generation hyperscale data centers. In partnership with Molex, Telluride-based optical modules meet all of our key hyperscale customers' rigorous link performance metrics, enabling high-capacity deployments and meeting their growing network expansion needs."

Technical details

The Telluride series of high-performance PAM4 DSP SoCs implement 400Gbps optical modules with 4x100Gbps optical interfaces. These SOCs are suitable for use in QSFP-DD and OSFP modules. The MxL9354x 400G PAM4 DSP integrates an optional EA-EML driver with 1.8V PP SE swing.

Asynchronous interrupt mode clock is an essential feature of hyperscale data center customers starting 400G DR4 deployments. MaxLinear's 400G Telluride DSP (MxL9354x) successfully integrates this clock requirement.

The device is equipped with a comprehensive digital predistortion (DPD) engine in the transmission direction to compensate for laser nonlinearity and eliminate packaging limitations that cause reflection and bandwidth degradation at extremely high signal frequencies. On the receiving path, the DSP includes an adaptive signal enhancement engine that integrates continuous time linear Equalizer (CTLE), automatic gain control (AGC), feedforward equalizer (FFE), and decision feedback Equalizer (DFE).