Micas Networks

I feel like I've been assigning/reporting/writing/editing stuff about co-packaged optics—or things very much like it—for much of my career. Way the heck back in 2001 Neil Savage reported on it, and I was his editor. NVIDIA's committing to it last week at #NvidiaGTC, feels like a real milestone, even though Broadcom has been all-in for longer. Here's my take on why it makes sense now to bring optical fiber right to the silicon. Thanks to Micas Networks, Broadcom, M. Ashkan Seyedi, and Clint Schow https://lnkd.in/ewQK75rm

On the heels of our exciting announcement about volume production and global availability of our 51.2T CPO switch system, we’ll be attending OFC next week with our partner Broadcom! Stop by booth 3332 to see the power of CPO in action. To set up a live demonstration or to place your order, contact us at [email protected]. #OFC25 #CoPackagedOptics #CPOSwitch #SwitchSystem

Our CPO Switch is a game changer for moving AI forward.?With the news that we are in volume production, it was a perfect time to meet with Sameh Boujelbene… with Dell’Oro Group at #GTC25.??

For the past 50 years, #OFC has been a cornerstone event that fosters technical collaboration and innovation to advance optical networking and communications. At OFC 2025, we are collaborating with our partners to showcase a wide range of leading-edge technologies and product solutions across more than 15 partner booths. Swipe through and visit our website to learn more about our joint partner demos: https://brcm.tech/3FznvgF

BIG news: today we announced volume production and global availability of our 51.2T CPO switch system! Developed in cooperation with Broadcom, our CPO switch is an industry first and a game-changer for AI-driven data centers needing to scale. It delivers more than 40% power consumption savings compared to switches using pluggable transceivers. ? Read our announcement for all the details: https://bit.ly/3DNf54T ? To set up a live demonstration or to place your order, contact [email protected] ? For more information, visit www.micasnetworks.com/cpo #CPO #CoPackagedOptics #CPOSwitch #SwitchSystem

GTC is almost here! If you’re attending next week and would like to meet with us, please send a note to [email protected]. Sneak peek: we’ll have some big news to share next week around our CPO switch system … you won’t want to miss it! ? #GTC25 #CPO #CoPackagedOptics

Join us later this month at NVIDIA GTC – the ultimate developer conference at the heart of AI – to see how AI is solving the world’s toughest challenges. Planning to attend? Schedule a time to meet to with us by sending a note to [email protected] to learn more about how our CPO switch system is a game changer for AI-driven data centers needing to scale. ? #GTC25 #NVIDIA #SwitchSystem #CPO #CoPackagedOptics

Join us later this month at NVIDIA GTC – the ultimate developer conference at the heart of AI – to see how AI is solving the world’s toughest challenges. Planning to attend? Schedule a time to meet to with us by sending a note to [email protected] to learn more about how our CPO switch system is a game changer for AI-driven data centers needing to scale. ? #GTC25 #NVIDIA #SwitchSystem #CPO #CoPackagedOptics

The End of Chalcolithic/Copper Age: Why CPO is the Future of Seamless Bandwidth Scaling by Charlie Hou, VP of Strategy The relentless demands of AI and high-speed networking are rapidly pushing data centers beyond the capabilities of traditional copper interconnects. As data rates surge to 800Gbps and higher, copper's limitations become a critical bottleneck, hindering performance and scalability. Co-packaged optics (CPO) emerges as the solution, overcoming these electrical constraints and enabling seamless optical scaling for next-generation infrastructure. Copper interconnects face inherent challenges as data rates increase. Signal loss and degradation become more severe, requiring complex and power-intensive equalization techniques. The density of copper traces also restricts the bandwidth achievable within a given area, limiting overall system capacity. CPO revolutionizes data transmission by integrating optical engines directly with switch ASICs, minimizing the distance electrical signals must travel. By replacing copper traces with high-bandwidth optical links, CPO unlocks unprecedented performance and efficiency. The key benefit of CPO is seamless bandwidth scaling: Enables higher data rates and bandwidth density: Optical interconnects support much higher data rates compared to copper, facilitating seamless upgrades to next-generation networking. With CPO, data centers can scale bandwidth without being limited by copper's constraints. Higher bandwidth density translates to key benefits: AI acceleration: AI workloads, especially training large models, demand massive data throughput between GPUs and other processing units. CPO's ability to pack more bandwidth into a smaller area allows for tighter integration of compute resources. Networking efficiency: In high-speed networking, bandwidth density is crucial for maximizing switch capacity and minimizing rack space utilization. CPO enables the creation of more compact and efficient switches, allowing data centers to support higher port densities and greater overall network capacity. By maximizing the amount of bandwidth available per unit area, CPO enables data centers to support more users, applications, and services without requiring significant increases in physical space. Micas is at the forefront of CPO system development: Join us at OFC 2025 for an exclusive firsthand look at the world’s first volume-shipping TH5-Bailey CPO systems, setting a new benchmark in high-performance networking.

CPO: Leveraging Silicon Reliability for AI Networking by Charlie Hou, VP of Strategy At Micas, we are committed to revolutionizing AI Networking through innovative, reliable, and cost-effective optical solutions. CPO is emerging as a transformative technology that integrates optical components directly with switch or compute silicon, thereby harnessing the inherent reliability of silicon manufacturing. This integration not only reduces power consumption and link latency but also provides a more robust foundation for next-generation data centers. While PAM4 technology has been critical in increasing data transmission rates, it comes with several limitations. For example, as data centers demand higher performance—reaching 400G and 800G speeds—the power consumption of traditional PAM4-based pluggable optical modules rises dramatically. This increased power draw places significant pressure on overall energy efficiency and operational costs. Moreover, PAM4 solutions often face challenges with signal integrity; signal loss becomes an issue over long distances and through multiple copper channels, particularly as SerDes transmission rates increase. Additionally, electrical channel design constraints can hinder the performance of Linear Drive Pluggable Optics (LPO) solutions, making it difficult to meet the upcoming requirements for 224G SerDes. In contrast, CPO offers compelling advantages that directly address these limitations. By integrating optical and electrical components within a single package, CPO reduces the length of the electrical path, which not only enhances signal integrity but also significantly lowers latency. This streamlined design results in fewer potential points of failure and enables data centers to operate more reliably with minimal downtime. Data from industry leaders indicates that CPO can deliver substantial power savings compared to DSP pluggable and Linear Receive Optics (LRO) solutions, making it a more sustainable option for high-density AI networking. Furthermore, CPO improves scalability and networking density, paving the way for applications beyond 100T. The ability to support larger scale architectures and deliver greater performance per bit is critical as data centers evolve to meet ever-growing data demands. In addition to performance and reliability benefits, the integration provided by CPO also drives significant cost reductions—often achieving cost savings of more than 30% compared to conventional pluggable optics. In summary, while PAM4 modulation has enabled higher data rates, its inherent limitations in power consumption, signal degradation, and design constraints can hinder future growth. CPO overcomes these challenges by leveraging silicon’s superior reliability, ensuring enhanced performance, and reducing overall system costs. At Micas, we are proud to lead the way in delivering next-generation AI networking solutions that set a new standard for efficiency and reliability in modern data centers.