Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Spectra7 and Molex demo 400G Active Copper Interconnects

Spectra7 Microsystems and Molex are demonstrating 400 Gbps Active Copper Cables (ACCs) at DesignCon in the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

GaugeChanger is an innovative and disruptive technology that allows copper to extend much longer lengths without the cost and power penalty of optics. It works equally well at 25 Gbps NRZ and 50 Gbps PAM-4 enabling new connector standards of 100, 200 and 400 Gbps.


Molex recently began shipping its Passive Copper QSFP-DD (Quad Small Form Factor–Double Density) Cable Assemblies in volume production and the same customers are asking for Active Copper versions for longer lengths. The Molex system along with Spectra7’s GaugeChangerTM technology offers up to 12 times less power, while providing significant cost savings over optical solutions for hyperscale customers.

"Spectra7 has created a compelling solution to address the dramatically increasing power and cost of data center interconnects," said Greg Walz, advanced technical marketing manager, Molex. “We are seeing significant interest from our largest customers for 400 Gbps ACCs with Spectra7 technology and are pleased to be showcasing this product at DesignCon 2020.”

"Molex is a technology and market leader in the hyperscale interconnect market," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "The adoption of our 400 Gbps GaugeChangerTM technology by Molex is a significant milestone in the coming volume deployment of GaugeChangerTM, our data center product line."