Semtech Showcases AI Interconnect Leadership with Live 1.6T Demos at OFC 2026

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According to Dell’Oro Group, 2026 will mark the first year of volume deployments of 1.6 Tbps switches, with the ramp expected to be even faster than 800 Gbps — surpassing 5 million ports within one to two years of shipments. The firm also projects strong double-digit growth in AI networking spending in 2026, driven by ongoing scale-out of AI clusters.

“The companies defining AI infrastructure are integrating across the signal chain — not assembling it from fragmented point solutions,” said Amit Thakar, vice president of signal integrity product marketing. “Semtech has been building that position deliberately, and OFC is where customers see it in action: live 1.6T and 3.2T demonstrations, multi-vendor ecosystem validation and a portfolio that now extends deeper into the optical stack than ever before.”

Demonstrations at OFC 2026

• High-Speed Copper Interconnect for AI Scale-Up: Semtech will demonstrate ultra-low-power, low-latency 1.6T active copper cables (ACCs) using its GN8234 redriver ICs running live traffic to NVIDIA 224G/lane SerDes. Additionally, Semtech will demonstrate 3.2T ACCs at 448G per channel using its next-generation GN8304 redriver, designed to address increased data throughput requirements over copper links.
• Multi-Vendor 1.6T Optical Interconnect for Data Center and AI Scale-Out:
  • Demo 1: NVIDIA’s latest-generation 1.6T DR8 OSFP transceiver powered by Semtech’s GN1834D transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and GN187N1 modulator driver, running live traffic in an NVIDIA test platform.
  • Demo 2: A 224G/lane 102.4T Ethernet switch running live traffic over both single-mode and multimode fiber. The system uses multi-vendor 1.6T optical OSFP transceivers — including fully retimed optics (FRO), linear retimed optics (LRO) and linear pluggable optics (LPO) — built on Semtech’s GN1832, GN1834D, GN1834L, and GN1836 TIAs and GN1887 and GN1878 modulator drivers.
• Indium Phosphide (InP) Laser and Gain Chip Technology: Semtech will showcase its high-performance, high-output-power C-band gain chip for tunable laser applications in coherent optical modules.
• Next-Generation 448G/Lane Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) ICs: Semtech will demonstrate its TN622 modulator driver and TN14740 TIA at 448G/lane, highlighting advances designed to address the growing bandwidth demands of AI workloads.
• Passive Optical Networking (PON): A live demonstration will feature the GN7153C optical line terminal (OLT) Combo IC paired with the GN28L46 Burst Mode TIA for next-generation XGS-PON networks.

Technical Presentation at OFC 2026

“200G LPO: Design Challenges and Latest Test Data”

Monday, March 16, 2026, 10:30-11:00 A.M., Room 403B