Acacia Expands Client Optics Component Business with 1.6Tbps PAM4 DSP and 200G/lane Silicon Photonic Optical Engines
MAYNARD, Mass. – March 25, 2025 – When customers ask, Acacia listens. That is why today we are announcing the expansion of our client optics components portfolio with new products that leverage the proven Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and silicon photonics expertise that Acacia is renowned for in the coherent optics space. We’re introducing a 3nm Kibo 1.6T PAM4 DSP and a family of 200G per lane Optical Engine products that can deliver a solution with the power efficiency required for even the most demanding AI workloads.
Driven by Demands for Higher-Bandwidth, Lower Power and Smaller Footprint
Acacia’s client optics portfolio is driven by key customer requirements for better power efficiency, higher performance, and smaller footprint from a proven high-volume supplier. Delivering these capabilities is a critical enabler for module vendors to design cutting-edge pluggable modules that can handle the compute intensive workloads generated by AI, cloud services, and video streaming. With more than a million 100G per lane optical engines shipped in the last 12 months, Acacia is already an established supplier for client optics components based on silicon photonics.
Introducing the 3nm 1.6T Kibo PAM4 DSP
At the heart of Acacia’s 200G per lane client optics portfolio is the 3nm 1.6T Kibo PAM4 DSP designed to power the optical interconnects inside the world’s cloud and AI data centers. It is expected to sample later in 2025.
Key features include:
3nm CMOS node for market leading power efficiency enabling more than 20% lower power compared to existing 1.6T module implementations
Industry standard compliance enhanced by Acacia’s algorithms
Transmit Retimed Optics (TRO) configurations with power-efficient support for diagnostic and loopback troubleshooting capabilities
Support for gearbox and retimer applications
Designed for 1.6T DR4/DR8/2xFR4 modules in OSFP/QSFP-DD form factors
200G per Lane Optical Engine Family
Complementing the Kibo PAM4 DSP is a family of Optical Engine products designed to support 200G per lane that leverage Acacia’s silicon photonics expertise. Acacia’s Optical Engine products will be demonstrated at OFC 2025.
The family of Optical Engine products address a variety of applications with the following configurations:
Separate transmit and receive components
DR4, DR8 and 2xFR4 use cases
Support for 100G/lane and 200G/lane
Flexible driver configuration support
Transimpedance Amplifier (TIA) integration in receiver circuit (RX)
“We expect the market for IC chipsets for optical communications to grow from 2025 through 2030 at a CAGR of 17% as hyperscalers look to meet the burgeoning demands that AI is placing on the entire infrastructure,” said Vladimir Kozlov, Founder and CEO at Lightcounting. “Having a new supplier in this space, that also has the credibility that Acacia has amassed over more than a decade, will be key for continuing innovation.”
Leverages Acacia’s Proven Volume Manufacturing Capabilities
As an established leader in coherent DSP ASIC design-to-volume deployment, Acacia is a trusted supplier in the telecommunications industry. Acacia’s expanded client optics portfolio is also backed by Cisco’s full commitment to support the ongoing development, supply and customer service of Acacia’s existing and future products.
“Client optics has always represented an exciting opportunity to leverage our team’s expertise in DSP and silicon photonics,” said Benny Mikkelsen, SVP and General Manager, Acacia. “With AI driving tremendous demand for client optics and increased adoption of silicon photonics at 200G/lane, this is an ideal time for us to invest in scaling this part of our business.”
