AI and Cloud Computing increased the demand on data centers (DC) for storage and data transfer capacity (data center interconnect bandwidth) has increased dramatically driven by:

• Gigabit Ethernet: growth of 10, 25 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) network adapters
• Software as a Service (SaaS): less local computing u more transactions in the cloud/DC
• Internet of Things (IoT): Many devices sending/receiving data to the cloud
• New storage technology: enhances the attractiveness of cloud storage

Optical interconnect bandwidth enhancements are necessary as the datacenter interconnects start to require data transfer rates approaching and exceeding those of the long-haul fiber connections.

Datacom filter solutions are now available to address these needs:

• Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) in transceivers
  • separating or combining multiple wavelengths onto a single device
  • WDM regions covered include: O-band (1260-1360nm)
• C-band (1530-1565nm), L-band (1565-1625nm)
  • WDM filters in 800G Silicon-Photonics transceivers and other AI computing systems
• Broad bandpass filters to transmit the entire O, C, or L – band
• Silicon (Si) Etalons for tunable laser assemblies (TLA)
  • providing controlled free-spectral range (FSR), finesse, and tunability to enable selection of specific signal wavelengths 

Datacom filters often have similar optical functionality and requirements as traditional telecom filters, however the optical design, filter size and thickness may be customized to meet the unique requirements of these ultra-compact products. As always, maintaining the optical performance required at the lowest possible cost in a robust and reliable format is critical.