Breaking the Laser Bottleneck: Simplifying Co-Packaged Optics Manufacturing with 60× Fewer DFB Lasers

  Mr. Pirooz Hojabri

  CEO, IC Photonics            

Abstract: 

This presentation introduces a highly scalable External Laser Source (ELS) architecture that simplifies co-packaged optics (CPO) by reducing distributed DFB laser count by approximately 60×. The centralized laser architecture alleviates supply chain constraints while improving manufacturability, yield, reliability, and total cost of ownership through built-in redundancy and simplified system design.The significant reduction in laser count also enables cost-effective WDM deployment and higher optical launch power, improving end-to-end PAM4 link performance and achieving 10⁻¹⁴ BER without forward error correction (FEC). Eliminating FEC reduces both latency and power consumption, enabling faster, more efficient data movement between compute and memory. By increasing bandwidth density, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing system resilience, this architecture provides a practical pathway for scaling next-generation AI networking while addressing one of the industry's greatest challenges—the widening gap between compute performance and memory access.

Speaker's Biography: 

Pirooz Hojabri is a seasoned technology executive with more than 40 years of leadership experience spanning RF systems, mixed-signal ASICs, digital signal processing (DSP), and silicon photonics. A named inventor on 11 patents, he has led the development and commercialization of innovative technologies while holding senior leadership roles at industry-leading companies including IPG Photonics, Lumentum, Texas Instruments, Tektronix, Plato Networks, and National Semiconductor.