II-VI Incorporated and Samtec Demonstrate 56 Gbps PAM4 per Channel FireFly™ On-Board Optical Engines at OFC 2019

PITTSBURGH, March 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- II-VI Incorporated (Nasdaq:IIVI), a global leader in optical components for datacom transmission, and Samtec, a privately held global manufacturer of a broad line of electronic interconnect solutions, today unveiled a new 56 Gbps PAM4 per channel demonstration of the next-generation Samtec FireFly™ on-board optical engine technology at OFC 2019. II-VI’s high speed VCSELs is embedded within the FireFly system architecture.

The demonstration platform showcases low latency, high performance, on-board optical engines transmitting at 56 Gbps PAM4 per channel. The FireFly™ Micro Flyover System™ copper and optical options offer a direct connection into the ASIC/FPGA package bypassing the PCB for improved density and performance. The latest FireFly solutions are compatible with new generation FPGAs that support 56G PAM4 transceivers.  

“The high-performance and compact size of the protocol-agnostic FireFly redefines optical connectivity in a broad range of applications such as video, aerospace, embedded computing, instrumentation, HPC and Data Center,” said Arlon Martin, Sr. Director, Marketing, Samtec Optical Group. “This product demonstration leverages II-VI’s 56 Gbps PAM4 VCSELs, which are industry-leading in performance and reliability.”

“We worked closely with Samtec to ensure that our VCSELs exceeded the requirements for their high-performance 200G FireFly mid-board optical engines,” said Karlheinz Gulden, General Manager, II-VI Laser Enterprise. “We successfully integrated our leading-edge 56 Gbps PAM4 VCSEL arrays into Samtec’s transceivers and we are excited about the demonstration at OFC.”

Samtec’s FireFly mid-board optical engines offer system designers flexibility and performance advantages compared to pluggable optical transceivers.  FireFly features multiple optical front panel interconnect options. FireFly’s compact footprint is 4x smaller than the standard quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) module size and uses the same micro connector for both optical and copper cable assemblies. FireFly has the industry’s best-in-class optics, enabling 56 Gbps PAM4 that consumes only a few pico-joules of energy per bit.

II-VI’s 4-channel VCSEL arrays can be modulated at 56 Gbps PAM4 to achieve a combined 200 Gbps over short reach multimode links.  AOCs and transceivers based on VCSELs offer the most cost-effective solution for datacenter links that span from 10 to 300 meters.

OFC, Mar. 5-7, 2019, San Diego Convention Center

II-VI will showcase at Booth #4312 new products that enable the 5G optical infrastructure, hyperscale datacenters, 3D sensing and LiDAR to name a few. The 56 Gbps PAM4 FireFly demonstration can be seen at Samtec’s Booth #2500. For more information on the FireFly™ Micro Flyover System, please visit or e-mail .

About II-VI Incorporated

II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, the Company has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. The Company produces a wide variety of application-specific photonic and electronic materials and components, and deploys them in various forms, including integrated with advanced software to support our customers. For more information, please visit us at .

About Samtec, Inc.

Founded in 1976, Samtec is a privately held, $822 MM global manufacturer of a broad line of electronic interconnect solutions, including High-Speed Board-to-Board, High-Speed Cables, Mid-Board and Panel Optics, Precision RF, Flexible Stacking, and Micro/Rugged components and cables. With 40+ location severing approximately 125 countries, Samtec’s global presence enables its unmatched customer service. For more information, please visit .