What’s really inside a coherent transceiver?

What’s really inside a coherent transceiver?

These tiny pluggables do a massive job.

In this image, I opened up a coherent pluggable transceiver and paired it with a block diagram that shows what’s happening inside from electrical DSP to optical signal output.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) handles advanced modulation and error correction.
2. DACs/ADCs convert signals between analog and digital domains.
3. Analog electronics amplify and drive the signal.
4. Tunable lasers, modulators, photodetectors, and passive photonics perform the heavy lifting of optical transmission and reception.

Coherent optics have made it possible to push massive bandwidth across long distances especially in DCI, subsea, and metro-core networks.

And with pluggable form factors like CFP2-DCO and QSFP-DD ZR/ZR+, these capabilities are now accessible directly from switches and routers. No more bulky transponders.

This is how we send 400G+ over thousands of kilometers with precision, speed, and a touch of silicon photonics magic.

Disclaimer – This post has only been shared for an educational and knowledge-sharing purpose related to Technologies. Information was obtained from the source above source. All rights and credits are reserved for the respective owner(s).

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Source: LinkedIn

Credits: Mr. Jayvie Suriaga, PECE, AE