Trumpf Photonic Components, a manufacturer of high-speed VCSEL and photodiode solutions for data communication, and KDPOF, a Spanish high-speed optical networking solutions business, have showcased the first 980nm multi-gigabit interconnect system for automotive systems at the European Conference for Optical Communication (ECOC) this week.
“After a long-term cooperation, it’s great to have entered the stage where we can prove to end users the true strength of 980nm optical interconnects,” said Ralph Gudde, vice president of marketing and sales at Trumpf.
Both companies are working on optical data communication standards and solutions for the automotive industry. Due to the automotive sector’s push toward autonomous driving, a large amount of data must be processed in cars. This requires optical interconnects to manage the data flow as a nervous system, connecting sensors and electronic brains while meeting tight electromagnetic interference requirements. As this trend is constantly increasing, Trumpf and KDPOF entered a strategic partnership in 2022 to combine their knowledge of components and networks for data communication. They say that significant progress has been made with the first implementation of the new IEEE Std 802.3cz (nGBASE-AU), consisting of a transceiver that integrates electronics, photonics and optics in a single IC component.
“Automotive is a very demanding industry,” said Rubén Pérez-Aranda, chief technology officer at KDPOF. “The IEEE Std 802.3cz standard is therefore focusing on highly reliable conditions that enable lifetimes of 15 years and more, with low cost and high-volume implementations. Having suppliers like Trumpf in the 802.3cz working group enriched the discussion with their deep manufacturing and design knowledge of VCSEL and photodiode components, which in turn enabled the production of a serious and dependable standard. With our strategic partnership we are going one step further and are targeting optical networks to become an indispensable part of future cars.”
Automotive applications require not only a much wider range of operating temperatures, from -40°C up to +125°C, but also a low interconnect length of less than 40m. For superior robustness against wear and random failures, 980nm VCSEL was approved as the wavelength to become the new standard. Besides its performance characteristics, 980nm suits the existing OM3 fibers with low dispersion loss.
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