Spectra7 demos 112G PAM4 GaugeChanger chip

Spectra7 Microsystems demonstrated its new 112G PAM4 GaugeChanger chip intended for next generation 800Gbps data center interconnects at this year's annual DesignCon Conference and Exhibition.

The demo show Spectra7's new GC1122 chip compensating for 112Gbps PAM4 signal loss over 4m of Volex 28AWG high-speed twin-ax cable.

Since the GC1122 is analog and highly linear, dynamics such as line rate adjustment, multi-level signaling, intermittent line silence, transmit pre-emphasis or amplitude adjustment and receiver adaptivity are fully preserved. GC1122 chips are now sampling to leading cable partners and end customers.

"We are excited to have Volex as a partner for this impressive demonstration of what is achievable with our GaugeChanger™ technology and their cable technology," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "We look forward to bringing 800G cables to market with them later this year."

http://www.spectra7.com

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Spectra7 and MultiLane demo 112Gbps PAM4 Active Copper Cable

Spectra7 Microsystems and MultiLane will be demonstrating Spectra7's new 112G PAM4 GaugeChanger chip intended for next generation 800Gbps data center interconnects at this year's annual China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE) 2021 show at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center in Shenzhen from September 16-18.

As the industry moves to 800Gbps it will adopt 112Gbps PAM4 per lane signaling over 8 lanes. At these ultra-high signal rates, traditional passive copper cables will struggle to reach beyond 1.5 meters. This creates a huge problem for Hyperscalers that require longer lengths to serve both switch-to-switch and switch-to-server connections, but do not want to incur the power and cost penalty of optics. 

ACCs enabled with Spectra7's GC1122 solution will extend copper cable reach 2.5 times, up to 4 meters at a fraction of the cost of optics while consuming only 200mW of power per channel, which is up to 12 times lower power than optical solutions.

The GC1122 is the latest addition to Spectra7's GaugeChanger product line and extends the data rate from 56Gbps PAM4 to 112Gbps PAM4 per lane. Since the GC1122 is analog and highly linear, dynamics such as line rate adjustment, multi-level signaling, intermittent line silence, transmit pre-emphasis or amplitude adjustment and receiver adaptivity are fully preserved. The GC1122 is packaged in an ultra-small 2.7mm x 4.2mm chip scale package making it easily embeddable in even the smallest of connectors.

The CIOE demonstration highlights Spectra7's new GC1122 device as well as MultiLane's latest high speed test equipment including the ML4015D DSO and the ML4079E 800G BERT.

"Spectra7's new GC1122 is set to fill a big need in the data center interconnect market," said MultiLane CEO Fadi Daou. "We are delighted to be working with Spectra7 and their cable partners as they anticipate bringing their 112Gbps products to mass production in 2022."

"We are seeing tremendous interest from every Hyperscaler to get sample 800Gbps cables that are enabled by our new GC1122 solution", said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "Both we and our cable partners believe that 800Gbps will represent a significant acceleration in the growth and adoption of our ACC data center interconnect technology."

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Spectra7 and MultiLane demo 112Gbps PAM4 Active Copper Cable

Spectra7 Microsystems and MultiLane Technologies demonstrated 112Gbps PAM4 Active Copper Cable (ACC) technology at this week's DesignCon event in San Jose, California.

Spectra7 said ACCs enabled by its new 112G PAM4 GaugeChanger chip will extend copper cable reach 2.5 times, up to 4 meters at a fraction of the cost of optics. Critically, at a time when Hyperscale operators are struggling with power consumption and carbon emissions, ACCs using the Spectra7 technology will consume only 200mW of power per channel, which is up to 12 times lower power than optical solutions.

Spectra7's GC1122 solution is the latest addition to the company's GaugeChanger product line and extends the data rate from 56Gbps PAM4 to 112Gbps PAM4 per lane. Since the GC1122 is analog and highly linear, dynamics such as line rate adjustment, multi-level signaling, intermittent line silence, transmit pre-emphasis or amplitude adjustment and receiver adaptivity are fully preserved. The GC1122 is packaged in an ultra-small 2.7mm x 4.2mm chip scale package making it easily embeddable in even the smallest of connectors.

The DesignCon demonstration highlights Spectra7's new GC1122 device as well as MultiLane's latest high speed test equipment including the ML4015D DSO and the ML4039E BERT.

"Spectra7's new GC1122 is set to fill a big need in the data center interconnect market," said MultiLane CEO Fadi Daou. "We are delighted to be working with Spectra7 and their cable partners as they anticipate bringing their 112Gbps products to mass production in 2022."

"We are seeing tremendous interest from every Hyperscaler to get sample 800Gbps cables that are enabled by our new GC1122 solution", said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "Both we and our cable partners believe that 800Gbps will represent a significant acceleration in the growth and adoption of our ACC data center interconnect technology."

https://www.spectra7.com/spectra7andmultilane-2021

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Spectra7 Sets Sights on 56Gbps PAM4 NIC designs

Spectra7 Microsystem announced three new reference designs targeted at new server connectivity needs implementing 56Gbps PAM4 signaling on Ethernet Network Interface Cards (NICs). 

As servers adopt higher bandwidth ports that utilize 56Gbps PAM4 signaling, passive cables cannot serve all lengths needed. Instead of deploying optical interconnects that are much higher power and more costly, operators are looking to Active Copper Cables (ACCs) to serve this growing need. One example is Tencent who demonstrated a Spectra7 enabled ACC for server connectivity in September at China’s Open Data Center Committee (ODCC) conference. The 200Gbps demonstration showed a Spectra7 enabled ACC “splitter cable” connecting from a 200Gbps top-of-rack (ToR) switch port to 2 separate servers with 100Gbps NIC ports. The signaling in the cable was 56Gbps PAM4. This “splitter cable” architecture is being widely planned both in the US and in China for next generation deployments.

GCS-QSFP Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 QSFP56-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

GCS-DSFP Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 DSFP-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

GCS-SFP-DD Reference Design

Server Connectivity Splitter Cable with 200Gbps QSFP56-CR4 form factor module at switch end and 2 SFP-DD-CR2 form factor modules at server ends. A total of 4 GC2502 ICs are used in this reference design.

http://www.spectra7.com/pam4-referencedesigns

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Spectra7 cites progress in 800G active copper cables

Luxshare will evaluate 800Gbps data center interconnects using Active Copper Cable (ACC) interconnects based on Spectra7’s new GC1122 solution.

Spectra7 also confirmed that Foxconn Interconnect Technology, Inc. (Foxconn) a leading supplier of interconnect solutions will support next generation 800 Gbps Active Copper Cable (ACC) interconnects using Spectra7’s new GC1122 solution. 

Spectra7 said its GaugeChanger allows copper to extend much longer lengths without the cost and power penalty of optics. It works equally well at 25Gbps NRZ, 50Gbps PAM-4 and 100Gbps PAM-4 enabling new connector standards of 100, 200, 400 and 800Gbps.

Spectra7 Microsystems' GC1122 is the latest addition to the company's GaugeChanger product line and extends the data rate from 56Gbps to 112Gbps per lane. Since the GC1122 is analog and highly linear, dynamics such as line rate adjustment, multi-level signaling, intermittent line silence, transmit pre-emphasis or amplitude adjustment and receiver adaptivity are fully preserved.

“Spectra7 has created a compelling solution to address the dramatically increasing power and cost of data center interconnects. We are seeing significant interest from our largest customers for 800Gbps ACCs,” said Jinhua Chen, Enterprise GM at Luxshare-ICT.

“We are thrilled to have Luxshare as a partner for our 800Gbps GaugeChanger™ technology," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "They are a technology leader in the hyperscale interconnect market."

Luxshare-ICT is a manufacturer of cable assembly and connector system solutions for consumer, automotive, cloud, and enterprise applications. 

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Spectra7 and Luxshare demo 400G with OSFP Active Copper Cables

Spectra7 Microsystems and Luxshare-ICT demonstrated OSFP format Active Copper Cables (ACCs) using Spectra7 technology in a live demo passing 400Gbps Ethernet traffic generated by a 12.6 Tbps switch.

Luxshare-ICT, which offers high performance interconnects and cable assemblies, has chosen Spectra7’s GaugeChanger technology for integration into this new line of OSFP Active Copper Cables. The embedded Spectra7 GC2502 Linear EQ Chips dramatically increase the length of standard copper cables by almost 3 times. This enables a significant number of cables in the 3 to 7m range to remain copper-based instead of having to switch to optical solutions which are dramatically higher in power and cost.

“Spectra7 continues its leadership in helping to drive the future of the data center interconnects industry, and we are proud to be collaborating with them to demonstrate next-generation high-speed solutions,” said Jinhua Chen, Enterprise GM at Luxshare-ICT. “Our continued collaboration with Spectra7 highlights our vision to build relationships that benefit our customers, partners, and provide flexible solutions to their toughest challenges.”

“Luxshare is a dynamic technology and market leader in the data center interconnect market," said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. "Their adoption of our GaugeChanger™ technology has already led to the first 25G deployment in China in 2019 and we are now well on our way to significant 400G deployments in the US in 2020."

The demo was conducted at DesignCon this week in Santa Clara, California.

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Spectra7 and Molex showcase 400G Active Copper Interconnects

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

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.

"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 GaugeChanger™ technology by Molex is a significant milestone in the coming volume deployment of GaugeChanger™, our data center product line."

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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."

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Spectra7 and Leoni show CRX Active Copper Cable

Spectra7 Microsystems and the telecommunication systems business unit of Leoni’s Wire and Cables Solution Division demonstrated new CRX Consortium Active Copper Cable technology at the annual China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE) 2019.

The demonstration showed Leoni cables with embedded Spectra7 chips operating with Mellanox ConnectX-5 network adapters configured for Ethernet low latency CA-N transmission.

“Spectra7 has developed impressive technology for the data center market and we are thrilled to be collaborating with them and Tencent in the formation of the CRX™ Consortium,” said Helmut Jungsthoefel, Data Center PM at Leoni. “We believe Active Copper Cables with technology from Spectra7 will play a critical role in the future of copper interconnects.”

Leoni is known in the global interconnect market for producing the highest performance raw cable and cable assemblies. They have selected Spectra7 chips for their entire line of Active Copper Cables including 25, 100 and 400G products.

CRX Consortium pushes for active copper cables

Sunday, June 23, 2019    

A new CRX (Copper Reach Extension) Consortium has been launched to accelerate the adoption of active copper cable products. The key backers are Tencent and Spectra7 Microsystems, a supplier of high-performance analog semiconductor products and a developer of active copper cable technology. Additional members include Luxshare-ICT and Foxconn Interconnect.

The CRX Consortium says its initial focus will be on 25G Ethernet connections between servers and switches. The consortium is developing a specification for these cables that is expected to be released in Q4 of this year. Subsequent specifications will be developed for 50G, 100G, 400G and 800G Ethernet as well as other evolving protocols. The specifications will cover both NRZ signaling as well as PAM4 signaling.

The initial CRX specification release is planned for Fall 2019; CRX consortium members plan to begin mass deployment of cables complying with the CRX specification later this year.

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Spectra7 and FIT demo SFP-DD Active Copper Cable

Spectra7 Microsystems and Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) are demonstrating Active Copper Cable (ACC) interconnects supporting the new SFP-DD standard for higher speed and higher density server connections at this week's DesignCon 2019 expo in Santa Clara, California.

The cables use Spectra7’s low-power analog GaugeChanger chips to enable 4X increase in bandwidth over currently deployed SFP28 interconnects in hyperscale and enterprise data centers.

Currently deployed SFP interconnects operate at 25-28 Gbps but will soon move to 56 Gbps PAM4 signaling. The new SFP-DD electrical interfaces are designed to support 2 lanes that operate up to 25 Gbps NRZ or 56 Gbps PAM4 per lane, providing solutions up to 50 Gbps or 112 Gbps PAM4 aggregate. By doubling the lane density and data speed of SFP transceivers, the SFP-DD specification addresses increased port density and scalability in next-generation applications.

“FIT is a leader in the data center interconnect market,” said Spectra7 CEO Raouf Halim. “This joint demonstration at 112 Gbps of SFP-DD is another major milestone as we continue to leverage our technology in the latest data center standards.”

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Spectra7, providing chips for high-speed connectivity, raises $4.6m

Spectra7 Microsystems of San Jose, California, a developer of high performance analogue semiconductors, announced that it has closed its previously announced bought deal offering of 11,500,000 units at a price of 40c per unit, including the full exercise of the over-allotment option, for aggregate gross proceeds of $4.6 million.

Spectra7 stated that the public offering was underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuiy and including Eight Capital and Echelon Wealth Partners.

In addition to the public offering, the company announced that it has closed the first tranche of its private placement of units, as previously announced on June 7th, pursuant to which it issued 3,280,750 units for additional gross proceeds of $1.31 million, including subscriptions by its CEO and certain directors of the company.

Each unit issued through the offerings comprises one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share for 55c per share for a period of two years after closing of the offerings.

Spectra7 stated that the net proceeds from the offerings will be used to fund R&D and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Separately, the company announced amendments to its $6.50 million senior secured term loan facility with MidCap Financial. The amendments include extending the commencement date for principal payments under the loan facility by a year to June 1, 2018, and the option to extend the maturity date of the facility by a further year upon satisfaction of certain conditions.

In relation to the amendments, Spectra7 has issued warrants to purchase up to 750,000 common shares, with each warrant exercisable for a period of five years into one common share at a price of 39c.

For its most recent quarter ended March 31, 2017, Spectra7 reported revenue of $2.7 million, up 8% versus $2.5 million a year earlier, with gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the quarter at 60%, flat sequentially.

http://www.spectra7.com/news

* In January, Spectra7 demonstrated what it claimed as the first QSFP28 Double Density (QSFP28-DD) active copper cable (ACC) integrating its new GaugeChanger Plus GC2502 silicon. It also stated it would begin sampling GaugeChanger Plus QSFP28-DD active copper modules to data centre cable assembly companies during the quarter.

Using the linear design of its GC2502, Spectra7 noted that the modules can support both NRZ and PAM4 signalling, enabling 200 or 400 Gigabit Ethernet transmissions over the same cable.

* Spectra7 also announced sampling of IEEE COM-compliant SFP28 and QSFP28 active copper modules to Tier 1 cable assembly and data centre customers in North America and Asia. It noted the modules were available for evaluation and qualification by customers such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba, as well as data centre equipment manufacturers such as Cisco, HP, Dell and Hauwei.

* Spectra7 is an analogue semiconductor company delivering solutions enabling high bandwidth, speed and resolution for electronics manufacturers addressing broadband connectivity markets. Based in San Jose, the company has design centres in Markham, Ontario, Cork, Ireland and Little Rock, Arkansas.

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