Breakthrough: First 1.6T PAM4 DSP Revolutionizes Active Electrical Cables

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications are pushing the boundaries of connectivity bandwidth requirements within data center racks. The latest addition to the Alaska A family, built on a 5nm process, utilizes Marvell PAM4 DSP technology to facilitate short-reach copper interconnect solutions that cater to the escalating bandwidth demands of accelerated infrastructure.

According to 650 Group, the AEC silicon market is projected to witness a 64% annual growth rate, reaching $1 billion by 2028, with DSPs fueling AECs to hit nearly 40 million units per year. Alan Weckel, co-founder of 650 Group, emphasized the significance of AI in propelling the necessity for short-reach copper connectivity at 1.6T. Marvell's introduction of the Alaska 1.6T AEC DSP underscores the company's commitment to delivering top-notch PAM DSPs that empower cable vendors to offer optimized interconnect solutions for diverse cloud AI architectures.

The evolution of short-reach copper connections between AI accelerators, server-to-top-of-rack links, and switch-to-switch interconnects within racks has traditionally relied on direct attached cables (DAC). However, as speeds escalate to 200G/lane, the feasibility of using passive DACs over extended distances diminishes. AECs leverage PAM4 DSPs to retime signals, extending the reach of copper interconnects and enabling the use of thinner cables in high-density data center environments.

AECs are finding increasing utility across various applications, including integration into the AI server compute fabric. Previously, AI server designs predominantly employed copper trace connections on printed circuit boards to link accelerators. With the demand for larger AI workloads necessitating more accelerators per server, the distribution of accelerators across multiple boards within racks connected via copper cables is becoming prevalent. As accelerator-to-accelerator interconnect speeds transition to 200G/lane signaling, AECs will be pivotal in facilitating this connectivity.

The new Alaska A device capitalizes on Marvell's over a decade of PAM4 leadership. Featuring eight 200 Gbps SerDes lanes to the host device and eight to the copper cable, the Alaska A 1.6T DSP boasts an industry-leading equalization engine enabling cable reaches exceeding three meters, meeting the reach requirements for intra-rack copper connections. Tailored for next-gen accelerated infrastructure, the Alaska A 1.6T DSP sports 200 Gbps I/O interfaces on AI accelerators, GPUs, NICs, and switches.