Jabil’s Photonics Business Unit Introduces 800G Active Optical Cable Family

• New active optical cable family ideally suited for disaggregated data center and cloud environments by boosting bandwidth with minimum latency and reduced power consumption 
• VCSEL on PAM4 DSP technology optimizes performance while reducing costs and complexity
• Comprehensive solutions and enabling technologies, world-class manufacturing, and supply chain capabilities drive innovations in optical communications

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) today announced that its photonics business unit is expanding its design, manufacturing, and testing capabilities, culminating in the launch of a new Active Optical Cable (AOC) family. As a result, Jabil is uniquely positioned to address the rapid pace of advancements in optics-enabled network and data center architectures while supporting the continuing surge of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, high-performance computing (HPC), and machine learning (ML) applications. Jabil will be showcasing its advanced photonics solutions at OFC’23 in San Diego (Booth #3425).

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Jabil’s new 800G Active Optical Cable product addresses rising demand for low-cost, high-performance, short-distance interconnects. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Jabil’s investments in key enabling technologies and world-class facilities are driving the availability of game-changing photonics solutions and capabilities,” said KW Hoo, vice president of the photonics business unit, Jabil. “With the introduction of our 800G AOC family, we meet immediate needs for low-cost, high-performance, short-distance interconnects. Jabil’s ability to push the boundaries of photonics technology is backed by strong product design, precision manufacturing, and packaging services that advance optical communications excellence on behalf of our global customers and valued partner ecosystem.”

Increased Bandwidth at Reduced Latency, Power, and Cost

The first product in Jabil’s new AOC family is available in two configurations to offer data center operators increased deployment flexibility. The first configuration supports point-to-point communications at speeds up to 800Gbps over distances of up to 100 meters. A breakout-cable configuration also is available, which connects a single 800Gbps interface with two 400G QSFP-DD modules. The breakout cable is ideally suited to connect next-gen switches operating at 800Gbps with existing ports operating at 400Gbps without requiring additional conversion or mapping. The new 800G AOC product will be available in both QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors.

In addition to decreasing deployment requirements and costs, Jabil’s AOC offering delivers significant performance and efficiency benefits using Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology operating at 100Gbps per fiber and 800G PAM4 Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology. VCSEL is gaining traction rapidly for its ability to address the rigorous requirements of demanding applications, including short-reach, high-speed optical communications, 3D sensing, and facial recognition. In addition to elevated performance, Jabil’s AOC solution offers seamless compatibility with a vast range of Ethernet switch designs.

Jabil’s first 800G AOC product will be available during the second half of 2023. Development is underway on 400G AOC products to extend the AOC product line while accommodating a wide range of applications.

Comprehensive Capabilities Reduce Optical System Complexities

Through its photonics business unit, Jabil empowers organizations to reduce the complexities of developing and deploying enhanced optical networking solutions by offering complete photonics capabilities and competencies encompassing component design, system assembly, and streamlined supply chain management. To that end, Jabil is expanding its large-scale manufacturing and advanced photonics packaging capabilities, including die bonding, flip chip, ball attachment, and fiber alignment. These extended capabilities complement Jabil’s design and manufacturing of optical modules, subsystems, and photonics solutions.

About Jabil:

Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a manufacturing solutions provider with over 250,000 employees across 100 locations in 30 countries. The world's leading brands rely on Jabil's unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise. Driven by a common purpose, Jabil and its people are committed to making a positive impact on their local community and the environment. Visit www.jabil.com to learn more.

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