Marvell Extends Connectivity Leadership With Industry's First 1.6T PAM4 DSP for Active Electrical Cables
Marvell Technology has unveiled the industry's first 1.6 Tbps PAM4 DSP for active electrical cables (AECs). This new Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 DSP, built on Marvell's 5nm PAM4 technology, addresses the growing need for 200G/lane I/O to support AI accelerators and GPU bandwidth demands. It enables short-reach copper connectivity within accelerated compute racks. The AEC silicon market is projected to grow at 64% per year, reaching $1 billion by 2028, with DSPs powering nearly 40 million units annually. The device features eight 200 Gbps SerDes lanes, an advanced equalization engine, and supports multiple AI infrastructure applications, providing over three meters' reach at 200G/lane. Partners like Amphenol, Molex, and TE Connectivity are poised to sample these DSP-based AECs by August.
- Introduction of the industry's first 1.6 Tbps PAM4 DSP, positioning Marvell as a leader in connectivity technology.
- Addresses the increasing AI and GPU bandwidth demands, providing a competitive edge.
- Projected AEC silicon market growth at 64% per year, reaching $1 billion by 2028, indicating strong market potential.
- Supports 200G/lane I/O interfaces, critical for next-generation AI infrastructures.
- Advanced equalization engine enabling greater than three meters' reach, enhancing product utility.
- None.
Insights
The introduction of Marvell's Alaska® A 1.6T PAM4 DSP is an important move in the data infrastructure semiconductor space. This product addresses a significant market need driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. The market for active electrical cables (AECs) is projected to grow at an impressive
Moreover, the transition to 200G/lane signaling is important for handling larger AI workloads and enhancing efficiency in data centers. This product's ability to extend reach over copper interconnects while maintaining performance positions Marvell favorably in a rapidly growing market. This is especially pertinent as traditional solutions like direct attached cables (DAC) fall short at these higher speeds. The AEC's integration into existing infrastructure without extensive overhauls adds value and reduces deployment risk for companies.
Investors can view this development as a strategic initiative aligned with emerging trends in AI and ML, which are pivotal for future technological advancements.
From a technological standpoint, the Alaska® A 1.6T PAM4 DSP leverages Marvell's advanced 5nm process technology, which is a significant achievement in itself. The advancements in digital signal processing (DSP) technology, specifically the use of PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level) signaling, are essential for achieving the higher data rates required by modern AI accelerators and GPUs. The adoption of 200G per lane electrical line-side interface and features such as advanced digital equalizers enable longer cable reaches while maintaining signal integrity.
The integration of SerDes (Serializer/Deserializer) lanes for both the host and copper cable sides indicates a well-thought-out design that addresses the needs of high-density data centers where space and thermal management are critical considerations. Additionally, the product's compatibility with widely used form factors like QSFP-DD and OSFP ensures ease of integration into existing systems, making it a versatile solution for varying data center configurations.
This innovation not only enhances performance but also supports the scalability and flexibility needed for next-generation AI and ML applications. By focusing on these technical advancements, Marvell reinforces its leadership in the semiconductor industry.
- New
Alaska ® A 1.6T PAM4 DSP for copper interconnects is built on Marvell industry-leading 5nm PAM4 technology. - Addresses the growing need for 200G/lane I/O to handle AI accelerator and GPU bandwidth demands.
- Enables 1.6T short-reach copper connectivity within accelerated compute racks.
According to 650 Group, the AEC silicon market is expected to grow at
Copper PAM4 DSP Technology for Accelerated Infrastructure
The short-reach copper connections between AI accelerators, server to top-of-rack links and switch-to-switch interconnects 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.
AECs are increasingly being used in a wide variety of applications, including as part of the AI server compute fabric. Historically, most AI server designs used copper trace connections on printed circuit boards to connect accelerators to one another. Now, to address larger AI workloads, an increasing number of accelerators per AI server are needed, resulting in the distribution of accelerators across multiple boards within the rack that are connected using copper cables. As the speed of the accelerator-to-accelerator interconnects transitions to 200G/lane signaling, AECs will play a crucial role in enabling this connectivity.
The new Alaska A device leverages over a decade of Marvell PAM4 leadership. The Alaska A 1.6T DSP features eight 200 Gbps SerDes lanes to the host device and eight 200 Gbps SerDes lanes to the copper cable. The industry-leading equalization engine built into the Alaska A 1.6T DSP enables cable reaches of greater than three meters, addressing the reach requirements for inside-the-rack copper connections. The Alaska A 1.6T DSP is designed for next-generation accelerated infrastructure with 200 Gbps I/O interfaces on AI accelerators, GPUs, NICs and switches.
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
"The next wave of AI clusters will need 200 Gbps signaling to handle the bandwidth requirements of generative AI and large language models," said Venu Balasubramonian, vice president of product marketing, Connectivity Business Unit, at Marvell. "The newest addition to our Alaska A product line extends our leadership in delivering PAM4 DSP technology for short-reach copper connectivity for cloud AI clusters."
Industry-Leading Cable Manufacturer Support
"Our portfolio of interconnect solutions is designed to meet critical performance, efficiency and reliability requirements for next-generation infrastructure architectures. With the Marvell Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 AEC DSP we can offer an advanced AEC copper interconnect solution for 200G/lane connectivity that brings price-performance and power consumption advantages for high-density AI clusters and data-center infrastructure," said Brian Kirk, group CTO, High Speed Products, at Amphenol Communications Solutions.
"Molex's AEC portfolio offers a complete solution for our customers' cloud interconnect architectures. As speeds continue to rise driven by AI and ML, copper cable reach becomes very challenging for next-generation AI platforms. The Marvell Alaska A 1.6T AEC DSP enables us to deliver AEC solutions to meet the copper cable reach requirements at 200G/lane," said Jairo Guerrero, vice president and general manager, Copper Solutions, at Molex.
"200G/lane will be the speed of choice for next generation AI data centers, with copper cables playing a critical role for short reach intra-rack connectivity. The combination of the Marvell Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 AEC DSP with TE's advanced cabling solutions will deliver the bandwidth needed for next-generation, intra-rack AI copper interconnects," said Vishwas Rao, vice president of product management at TE Connectivity.
Availability
Leading cable partners will sample Alaska A 1.6T PAM4 DSP-based active electrical cables in August.
About Marvell
To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we're building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world's leading technology companies for over 25 years, we move, store, process and secure the world's data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers' current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we're ultimately changing the way tomorrow's enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better.
Footnote 1: 650 Group: AEC Quarterly Market and Long-Term Forecast Report, June 2024.
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