Compatible with IEC-224G-Linear and LPO-MSA, the new components enable the development of 800G, 1.6T and 3.2T optical transceivers and engines for artificial intelligence and machine learning clusters, hyperscale data centers and next-generation cloud infrastructures.
The launch addresses one of the main challenges posed by the rapid increase in traffic between accelerators and AI processing systems: increasing the bandwidth of optical connections while simultaneously reducing energy consumption, heat generation, and interface costs.
Linear optics to eliminate the DSP from the module
Semtech's new families have been developed specifically for linear optical architectures, in which the digital signal processor (DSP) traditionally used to compensate for signal degradation is removed from the optical module.
Removing this element can reduce the transceiver's power consumption and heat dissipation, although it increases the demands on the analog components responsible for maintaining signal integrity.
Semtech's new TIAs and drivers incorporate the necessary functions to work in this scenario and maintain link performance at speeds of 224 Gb/s per channel.
Linear connections also offer lower latency by eliminating certain digital processing stages. This characteristic is especially relevant in AI infrastructures, where reducing communication delays between processors, accelerators, and switches can help speed up processing and inference cycles.
New family of 224 Gb/s TIAs
The 224G transimpedance amplifier family consists of the GN1834L, GN1834DL, and GN1838DL models.
Semtech offers four- and eight-channel configurations and different physical layout options to facilitate its integration into various module architectures and optical engines.
The devices integrate equalization on the chip itself and combine high linearity with low noise, characteristics that are especially important in LPO applications and other linear optics architectures, where the analog chain must preserve signal quality without resorting to the DSP integrated into the module.
Drivers for SiPho, InP and TFLN
For the transmitter side, Semtech incorporates the GN1877, a four-channel driver, and the GN1887, an eight-channel driver.
The new circuits are designed to control optical transmitters based on different technologies, including Silicon Photonics (SiPho), indium phosphide (InP) Mach-Zehnder modulators, and thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) devices.
The gain and output amplitude can be adjusted, giving designers leeway to find the balance between power consumption and performance depending on the characteristics of the optical component used.
The drivers also incorporate a host-side equalizer compliant with IEC-224G-Linear. Their operating range is designed to cover everything from very short-distance connections in NPO and CPO systems to the various electrical trace lengths used in LRO, LPO, and XPO implementations.
Optical link monitoring and telemetry
Both the TIA amplifiers and drivers integrate real-time link monitoring and telemetry functions.
These capabilities provide information on connection behavior during operation and facilitate preventative diagnostics. The goal is to reduce phenomena such as repetitive disconnections and reconnections of optical links—known as link flapping—and improve the overall reliability of the network.
Telemetry is especially relevant in linear optical architectures, as it provides information to monitor connections where some of the compensation functions previously performed by the DSP are no longer present in the module.
## 800G, 1.6T and 3.2T Interconnections for AI
The development of 224 Gb/s per channel interfaces is one of the necessary steps to increase the capacity of transceivers and optical engines used in new generations of data centers.
With eight channels operating at this speed, it is possible to address 1.6T class interfaces, while architectures with a greater number of channels allow progress towards 3.2T optical systems.
This increased capacity coincides with the adoption of LPO, NPO, and CPO as alternatives to reduce energy consumption associated with the movement of large amounts of information within AI clusters.
According to LightCounting's forecasts cited by Semtech, the market for linear optical transceivers and CPO/NPO solutions for artificial intelligence cluster networks could grow from about $5 billion in 2024 to more than $10 billion in 2026.
Semtech aims to cover both the receiving and transmitting paths of these interfaces with its new product families. As Amit Thakar, Vice President of Signal Integrity Product Marketing at Semtech, explains, the goal is to provide, from a single platform, the necessary components for different linear optic implementations.
The GN1834L, GN1834DL and GN1887 models are already available, while the GN1838DL and GN1877 are scheduled to arrive in April 2026.
