Marvell Technology, Inc. Introduces the Marvell Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 DSP for Active Electrical Cables
June 27, 2024 at 06:30 pm IST
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Marvell Technology, Inc. introduced the Marvell Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 DSP for active electrical cables (AECs), the industry's first 1.6 Tbps AEC DSP to address emerging 200G/lane-based accelerated infrastructure architectures. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications are driving greater connectivity bandwidth requirements between AI accelerators, server to top-of-rack links and switch-to-switch interconnects within data center racks. The latest addition to the Alaska A family is built on 5nm process and leverages Marvell PAM4 DSP technology to enable short-reach copper interconnect solutions that meet the growing bandwidth requirements of accelerated infrastructure.
According to 650 Group, the AEC silicon market is expected to grow at 64% per year to reach $1 billion by 2028 with DSPs powering AECs to reach nearly 40 million units per year1. Copper PAM4 DSP Technology for Accelerated Infrastructure: The short-reach copper connections between AI accelerators, servers to top-of-rack link and switch-to- switch-to-switch inter connects within a rack have traditionally been addressed by direct attached cable (DAC). As speeds increase to 200G/lane, the distance over which passive DACs can be used declines significantly.
AECs use PAM4 DSPs to retime the signal to extend the reach of copper interconnects and enable thinner cables within high-density data center racks. Key features of the Alaska A 1.6T AEC DSP include: Proven DSP-based 200G PAM4 SerDes; Advanced digital equalizer with Feed Forward (FFE), Decision Feedback (DFE) and Maximum Likelihood Sequence Detection (MLSD); Greater than 3-meter reach at 200G/lane; 200 Gbps per lane electrical line-side interface; Optimized for QSFP-DD and OSFP form factors; Retiming and gearboxing support; Cable reference design for 1.6T AECs; SDK support for advanced telemetry and diagnostics. Availability: Leading cable partners will sample Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 DSP-based active electrical cables in August.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd specializes in designing and marketing integrated communications and storage circuits intended for manufacturers of high-speed network equipment, hard disks, and consumer electronics. Net sales break down by area of application as follows:
- data centers (40.7%): artificial intelligence systems, data storage systems, Ethernet switches, servers, interconnection systems, etc.;
- enterprise networks (23.1%): routers, Ethernet switches, wireless access points, network equipment, workstations, etc. for campuses, small and medium-sized enterprises;
- telecom network infrastructures (18.3%): access multiplexers, Ethernet switches, optical transport systems, routers, wireless radio network access systems, etc.;
- consumer electronics (11.9%): broadband gateways and routers, game console systems, home data storage systems, home wireless access points, personal computer systems, printers and receiver terminals;
- automotive and industrial (6%): advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicle systems, embedded network systems, industrial Ethernet switches, video surveillance systems.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (11.7%), China (42%), Malaysia (6.6%), Thailand (6.6%), Singapore (5.6%), Taiwan (4.9%), Japan (4.4%), Finland (3.2%), Philippines (2.9%) and other (12.1%).
MARVELL TECHNOLOGY GROUP LTD 
