Huawei is doubling down on its bet that near-packaged optics (NPO) is the interconnect technology capable of meeting the scale needed for AI infrastructure buildout.
At the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE) in Shenzhen, the vendor unveiled a 7.2 Tb/s (7.2T) module set to feature in next-generation iterations of its SuperPod platform. Jiangwei Man, director of Huawei’s advanced optoelectronics laboratory, described it in a press briefing as a “manifestation” of technologies Huawei has accumulated over the years, including laser systems like vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and silicon photonics.
Optical interconnects have quickly pushed to the forefront of intrigue for AI infrastructure developers, though considerable attention has been put on co-packaged optics (CPO). The likes of SK Hynix, Nvidia, and Microsoft are all throwing their weight behind the technology, which involves embedded optical engines on the same substrate or package as the semiconductor. NPO gets its name from the fact that optical engines are embedded immediately adjacent to the chip instead.
While California-based Lightmatter is leading the charge to define CPO standards, that effort is one of a number that Man and Huawei argue are increasingly fragmenting the overall optoelectronic standards and products. The vendor was one of several to sign on to a NPO multisource agreement launched earlier this year and wants to create a unified front supporting what it believes to be the more mature high-speed optical interconnect solution.
