Kotura In The News
OFC/NFOEC 2012: Silicon and photonics, so happy together…
Silicon photonics: pieces coming together for density
The silicon photonics field is developing in many directions and is on the brink, we believe, of commercial fruition as market need and technology development intersect.
Kotura finally put multiple previously-shown devices together to make an optical engine for 100Gbps single-mode transceivers. While the industry is contorting itself through CFP and
CFP2 form factors, this approach enables a leap directly to QSFP+ density. It uses LAN-WDM per the LR4 standard, though 10km reach might need more than the 3.5W for QSFP+ compliance;
the sweet spot is likely the 1–2km medium reach (MR4) currently under serious discussion for data center and client Ethernet, with the added benefit of fitting in a single fiber.
Kotura’s echelle grating multiplexer could also combine a larger number of DWDM channels to make a 1.6Tbps device, similar to Infinera’s PIC approach.
Silicon Photonics Signals Red Alert for 100G
Silicon photonics appear poised to make a run at the 100Gbit/s module market, but it's not certain this should have established module vendors freaking out.
Playing with blocks
For one thing, Kotura denies that it's making a transceiver module.
"We haven't decided that that's the right place for us to be, but definitely we want to do the chips for those," said Arlon Martin, Kotura's vice president of marketing.
A better way to describe the situation is that Kotura has built an "engine" that can be the core of a 100Gbit/s module, says analyst Brad Smith of LightCounting . Kotura, which has
made much of its money selling variable optical attenuators (VOAs) into multiple markets, was at OFC/NFOEC discussing its 25Gbit/s modulators and detectors, elements that could be part of a
100Gbit/s module. And providing the building blocks that others can use to build products would be more Kotura's style, Smith says.
How Silicon Photonics Is Solving the Bottlenecks in Data Centers and Supercomputers
One of the biggest challenges for data centers over the past ten years has been the conversion from 1 Gb/s to 10 Gb/s ports. Ethernet has a history of factor of 10 improvements in performance,
and the conversion to 10 G began in 2002 with the advent of the infamous 300 pin transponder. This 3 ½ by 4 ½ inch Behemoth (marketed as “small”) consumed as much as 14 watts of power! Initially
these transponders were used between the core routers in data centers and the volumes were small. It took 10 years for all of the ports on routers and switches to transition to 10 G. By now
several generations of transceivers have come and gone; today’s 10 G transceivers are as small as 1 G; the price for the more popular models has dropped well below $100; and, we will likely
see 10 million units shipped this year to data centers around the world. We must be ready for a new generation of 100 G transceivers, and we are.
Over the next few years, silicon photonics will play a major role in the transition from 10 Gb/s to 100 Gb/s in data centers and supercomputers. Silicon photonics is a new technology platform,
using large-scale CMOS fabrication methods to integrate optics and optoelectronic functions onto the same chip. The result is faster communications, lower power consumption and smaller devices
that can be easily mass produced.
Low-Power 100 Gb-s Optical Engine
Kotura announced its low-power 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s) optical engine to support the interconnect fabric for next generation data centers and high performance computers (HPC).
The new optical engine chips are based on Kotura’s micron scale manufacturing platform currently in mass production and deployed in live networks around the world since 2006.
100Gb/s optical engine targets data centers, HPC
Kotura Inc. has developed a low-power 100Gb/s optical engine that according to the company supports the interconnect fabric for next generation data centers and high performance
computers (HPC). The optical engine chips are based on Kotura's micron scale manufacturing platform.
The silicon photonics platform supports optical engines using Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM) in which different signals can share the same path. Claiming to be the only silicon photonics
provider to offer WDM, Kotura's optical engine offers reduced cost of fiber and associated connectors within the interconnect fabric for 4x25GHz solutions by a factor of four. It can also
expand from four channels to eight, 16 or even 40 channels in a single strand of optical fiber, added the company. Likewise, Kotura's silicon photonics platform supports optical engines
using parallel fiber channels.
Kotura unveils low power 100Gbps Optical engine.
Silicon photonics company Kotura will unveil its low-power 100 gigabits per second (Gb/s) optical engine to support the interconnect fabric at the OFC/NFOEC conference. Kotura’s
optical engine has been deployed around the world since 2006 and used by three of the five largest telecommunication OEMs. “The optical engine provides our customers with an inexpensive,
small form factor that reduces power consumption and provides a high level of integration,” said Mehdi Asghari, CTO of Kotura. “Moreover, we are addressing the need for green solutions
that will alleviate some of the strain associated with power hogs such as data centers and high performance computers. This is an important milestone, and we look forward to being a part
of new computing solutions that outperform what is possible today.” According to Brad Smith, senior vice president at Lightcounting, a market research firm, the advantages of silicon
photonics are enormous, enabling long-haul optical WDM to move to the server and switch rack. Silicon photonics and WDM allow modulation speed to bump up to 40G/50G and more channels in
the future without having to upgrade the entire fiber plant. As part of Kotura’s optical engine demo at OFC, Anritsu Company will be using its bit error rate tester, the MP1800A, to
support 100 Gb/s networking applications.
Kotura intros 100G optical engine
At OFC/NFOEC 2012, silicon photonics developer Kotura, Inc. plans to demonstrate its low-power 100-Gbps optical engine, which is designed to support the interconnect fabric
for next-generation data centers and high performance computers (HPC).
"The optical engine provides our customers with an inexpensive, small form factor that reduces power consumption and provides a high level of integration," said Mehdi Asghari, CTO of
Kotura. "Moreover, we are addressing the need for green solutions that will alleviate some of the strain associated with power hogs such as data centers and high performance computers."
Kotura has integrated multiple functions -- such as flip-chip attached lasers, high performance WDM de/multiplexers, fast low-power modulators, and high-speed detectors --
into a single pair of silicon chips, eliminating the need for hundreds of piece parts and dozens of assembly steps. Kotura says its optical engine is so small that a 100-Gbps transceiver
will easily fit inside a QSFP package, the smallest 40G package on the market today, which will greatly increase the panel density of 100-Gbps transceivers.
Silicon photonics firm Kotura unveils low-power 100Gb/s optical engine
At the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition/National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (OFC/NFOEC 2012) in Los Angeles, silicon photonics firm Kotura Inc of Monterey Park,
CA, USA, which designs and makes silicon photonics application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for the communications, computing, sensing and detection markets, will demonstrate its low-power
100Gb/s optical engine for supporting the interconnect fabric for next-generation data centers and high-performance computers (HPC).
The new optical engine chips are based on Kotura’s micron-scale manufacturing platform currently in mass production and deployed in live networks around the world since 2006. With three of the five
largest telecom OEMs already using Kotura products in their 10, 40 and 100Gb/s networks, the firm is approaching a million channels per year currently in production.
The Race for Photon Supremacy, in Silicon
Beyond the race for low cost 100GbE in the data center, there has been much discussion around the need for exascale (1018) computers in the coming years to drive the high performance
computing requirements demanded by Big Data crunching. Computing thought leaders such as IBM, Intel and others seem to be pointing to Silicon Photonics as the way to overcome a key
barrier of high speed processor-to-processor and processor-to-memory communications. While Intel and IBM have been doing active research in this area for several years, several
companies may have already risen the challenge. Luxtera recently announced they shipped 1 million 10Gb channels, and start-up Kotura also announced they are approaching nearly 1
million shipped devices.
Silicon Photonics Action: Kotura announces 4x25G QSFP Engine; Cisco buys Lightwire; Luxtera Raises $21M; St. Micro Deal; Aurrion Gets DARPA Contract - What's Next?
A lot of action in silicon photonics is happening just ahead of the big optical industry trade show OFC-2012. Silicon photonics has tremendous promise, but has struggled to find an
entry point. 100Gbps transceiver links appears to be the sweet spot! The data center optics is getting ready to jump from 10G/14Gbps to 25Gbps, but the short reach 25Gbps VCSELs are having
significant trouble meeting the required reliability. Silicon photonics companies are focusing on high-speed 4x25G optical interfaces as an entry point, while 25G VCSELs leave the door open.
Kotura 4x25G QSFP
Kotura announced it will be offering an optical engine based on 4-channels at 25Gbps that fits into a QSFP MSA.
Silicon Photonics Innovator Kotura Unveils Low-Power 100 Gb/s Optical Engine
Kotura's silicon photonics platform supports optical engines using Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM), in which different signals can share the same path. As the only silicon
photonics provider to offer WDM, Kotura's optical engine provides distinct advantages, including reducing the cost of fiber and associated connectors within the interconnect fabric for 4x25
GHz solutions by a factor of four, as well as readily expanding from four channels to eight, 16 or even 40 channels over a single strand of optical fiber. Additionally, Kotura's silicon
photonics platform also supports optical engines using parallel fiber channels.
Kotura touts importance of government initiatives in optoelectronics manufacturing
The future of US optoelectronics manufacturing will be spotlighted during a one-day industry-centric workshop at OFC/NFOEC 2012 in Los Angeles on March 5.
A leader in the industry, Kotura designs, manufactures and markets application specific silicon photonics circuits. Their unique silicon-based technology platform integrates
a broad range of optical and optoelectronic functionality to provide innovative application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions for applications ranging from communications to
high speed Ethernet LANs, high performance computing, as well as optics-based sensing and detection.
Kotura stresses role of government initiatives in opto manufacturing at OFC/NFOEC workshop
Kotura says that its unique silicon-based technology platform integrates a broad range of optical and optoelectronic functionality to provide application-specific integrated circuit
(ASIC) silicon photonics solutions for applications ranging from communications to high-speed Ethernet LANs, high-performance computing, as well as optics-based sensing and detection.
“With the escalating end-user demand for bandwidth, coupled with pricing pressures, the industry needs new ideas and new technologies,” believes chief technology officer Mehdi
Asghari, who will be speaking at the workshop. “Our manufacturing focus is one of innovation, integration and automation. We believe there is a role for government partnership in these
areas,” he adds.
How best to reduce power on future ICs
Excessive power consumption has become the chief roadblock to further scaling of semiconductors, threatening to stall advancement in all electronics sectors—everything from
further miniaturizing mobile devices to revving supercomputers.
While the causes are rooted in the immutable laws of physics and chemistry, engineers have devised a novel set of innovations that are mitigating the problem today and that
promise to reinvigorate the chip industry tomorrow.
Kotura's silicon photonics process allows it to integrate the optical transceivers from a cigarette-pack-sized, $10,000 conventional unit into a streamlined, iPhone-sized
$500 package that uses four to 20 times less power. Kotura has also demonstrated that its SiGe transceivers can send optical signals through the air between stacked CMOS dice,
essentially creating a high-speed, low-power optical data channel between stacked chips in lieu of pc board traces.
Kotura Wins Innovation Award from Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan has awarded Kotura, Inc., a premier provider of silicon photonics products, with a New Product Innovation Award for its Variable Optical Attenuator for
Optical Communications.
Kotura's Ultra VOA Array is a variable optical attenuation system that enables new optical networking functions like wavelength tracking and transient control. It was born
out of the growing requirement to better manage the optical channels in dense wavelength division multiplexing networks.
Data center market newcomer tackles transition to 100Gb networks
Energy consumed by the network has not been much of a concern for data center operators since it has so far paled in comparison with the amount of energy servers and
facilities infrastructure consumes.
Today, however, as the industry transitions from 10Gb links to 100Gb, the energy footprint of network makes a greater impact. As data center operators tackle this
transition, new opportunities emerge for companies to address the issue of energy used to transmit data.
One of these companies is Kotura, a Monterey Park, California, designer and manufacturer of silicon-photonics circuits. Having traditionally sold into the telecom
space, chips for network gear that enables 100Gbps links is the company's first attempt to enter the data center market.
Arlon Martin, VP of sales and marketing at Kotura, says, “We are really looking at the large pipes in data centers that go between clusters and switches.”.
Green Photonics for Energy Efficient Data Centers
Large data centers are measured by three metrics: number of server blades; number of square feet and megawatts of power. Rich Miller provided a very nice special report on large data centers in Data Center Knowledge in April 2010. The largest data center in the world, the Lakeside Technology Center, 350 East Cermak, Chicago, covers over 1 million square feet and is supported by 100 MW of power. Even the smaller data centers of the Top Ten are larger than half a dozen football fields.
The number of server blades is not often disclosed, but we do know that the Microsoft Chicago Data Center has capacity for 224,000 server blades in 110 containers on the ground floor plus room for thousands more in racks in the upstairs area. Worldwide, IDC estimates that over 7 million server blades are sold each year so it is not unusual for a large data center to have 100,000 servers or more.
Developing new processes to support silicon photonics
Arlon Martin, VP of marketing, government contracts, and industry relations at Kotura, discusses the changes in processes that fabs will have to make when integrating silicon photonics onto chips to support optical circuits in a podcast interview with SST senior technical editor Debra Vogler. Such optical process modules will have to support waveguides at very low loss, as well as wavelength multiplexers/demultiplexers, modulation of the light, detection of the light, and other functions (e.g., variable optical attenuators, monitors, etc.), he said. When optical interconnects that use silicon photonics replace copper wires, the result is increased processing speed and reduced heat and energy consumption.
Microelectronics Technology Alert: Silicon Photonics for Enabling High-Speed Interconnects
Server technology in the year 2021: Part 1
Gartner predicts server density and performance scaling to continue through to at least 2022, supported in part by a transition to optical system buses. Gartner analyst, Carl Clauch, said racks using internal optical fabric could contain 1,000 or more servers, all interconnected with an optical backplane at high bus speeds.
Vendors investing in this technology include IBM, Intel, Kotura and Lightfleet. In fact, Lightfleet recently delivered a prototype to Microsoft Research — a 32-blade cluster using crisscrossing beams of light in 8-inch cubes as the cluster interconnect.
The Tinker's Toolbox - Arlon Martin of Kotura on Silicon Photonics
In today's podcast we talk to Arlon Martin, VP of Marketing, Government Contracts & Industry Relations at Kotura, specialists in silicon photonics. KOTURA is developing a platform technology that integrates optics and electronics to provide innovative solutions to the communications industry.
Kotura opens office in Shenzhen led by Yicheng Lu, formerly with JDSU, as VP of China operations
Kotura of Monterey Park, California, a developer and volume manufacturer of silicon photonics products for over five years, has announced the opening of a new office in Shenzhen, China to provide greater access and support for a customer base that includes many of the largest telecom companies in the region.
Kotura Opens Office in China
Silicon photonics provider Kotura Inc. has announced the opening of an office in Shenzhen, China, to provide greater access and support for its installed customer base, which consists of many of the largest telecom companies in the region.
Led by Lu, the new office will enable the company to build strategic relationships for manufacturing, product packaging and other key resources required to support new product development.
Silicon photonics firm Kotura opens China office
Kotura says that its presence in China provides greater access and support for its installed customer base, which consists of many of the largest telecom companies in the region. China is recognized as a significant market for optical components, and the new office will provide sales & marketing, manufacturing and R&D support.
Kotura leads the way in silicon photonics!
The transition from copper to optics is underway and promises to deliver data at the speed of light – not just through fiber optic cables but on computer chips. Leading this movement is silicon photonics innovator Kotura.
One of Kotura’s strengths, and a key to advancing its technology and speed- and energy-saving applications, has been a robust R&D program, funded by a mix of private industry and Federal Government sources such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Departments of Commerce (NIST) and Energy.
This is excellent news for all concerned. Silicon photonics is the way forward!
Waiting for Terabit Ethernet? Don't hold your breath.
Figuring out how to transmit at terabit speed is daunting technologically. Integrated optics in silicon chips is a difficult challenge as well because it might require as many as 40 lasers at 40Gbps each. "That number of lasers is high especially if we want to integrate it" into a chip, says Arlon Martin, a researcher with Kotura, which makes silicon photonic devices.
He says by transmitting two bits per symbol using a technique called phase-shift keying, that could halve the number of lasers needed.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=19070.php
Kotura's low-power high-speed switch was developed as part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Ultra-performance Nano-photonic Intrachip Communications (UNIC) program in conjunction with Oracle Corporation, under the leadership of Dr. Jagdeep Shah, DARPA Program Manager. A paper, "Submilliwatt, ultrafast and broadband electro-optic silicon switches" by Po Dong, et al. was recently published in the prestigious OSA Journal Optics Express.
Kotura Develops Horizontal Photo Detector Compatible with Silicon Waveguides
Kotura has demonstrated a horizontal p-i-n germanium photo detector, which comes in a single chip combined with silicon waveguides. The photo detector was built under the leadership of Dr. Jagdeep Shah, program manager of the Defense Advanced Research Project.
Kotura Advances High Speed Optoelectronics Technology
Monterey Park-based Kotura, a developer of high speed optoelectronics products, said this week that it has demonstrated a high-speed horizontal p-i-n germanium photo detector integrated with silicon waveguides on a single chip, based on a project developed with DARPA. According to the firm, the technology is a "key component" for optical interconnects and may lead to reduction in complexity of connectors and cabling in high performance optical systems. The company said the detector is the first WDM compatible detector which can operate faster than 32 GHz. The technology was developed as part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Ultra-performance Nano-photonic Intrachip Communications (UNIC) program.
Kotura Announces Industry’s First Silicon Photonics Mux/DeMux for ½ Terabit/s Transmission
Kotura Inc., an industry leader in silicon photonics, today announced successful demonstration of their Echelle grating Mux and Demux for 500 Gb/s wavelength division multiplexing applications. The ½ Terabit-per-second demonstration, in partnership with CyOptics, marks the successful completion of the second year milestone as part of a three-year program called Terabit Photonic Integrated Circuits (TERAPICS).
Kotura Announces Technology Breakthrough in Low Voltage, High Speed Silicon Photonic Modulator
Kotura, Inc., a leading provider of Silicon Photonics products, today announced demonstration of an industry leading modulator with two-volt, peak-to-peak driving voltage, and permitting the use of inexpensive CMOS drivers. Equally impressive, the Kotura modulator achieved speeds in excess of 11 GHz and an ultra-low energy consumption of 50 femtoJoules per bit. The on chip device loss of 2 dB is among the lowest ever demonstrated.