Progress In Research On Co Packaged Optics

Coexistence Packaged Optical Module

CPO optical modules put optical and electronic parts together. They make the signal path much shorter, from centimeters to millimeters. This can cut power use by up to half. CPO technology lets more data fit in. At this year's OCP Global Summit, “Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)” became a frequently mentioned buzzword. With the continuous expansion of ultra-large model training scale and AI compute clusters, data centers face increasingly acute conflicts regarding power consumption, bandwidth, and architecture. Co-packaged optics (CPO) technology offers a promising solution by integrating photonic integrated circuits (PICs) directly within or close to electronic integrated circuit (EIC) packages. This article provides a comprehensive overview of CPO optical modules, exploring their technology, benefits, challenges, and the pivotal role they play in future data centers. Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) addresses this by relocating the optical conversion function — the point at which electrical signals become photons — from a pluggable module at the front panel to a position directly adjacent to, or integrated within, the switch ASIC package.

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