US-20260126603-A1 - ACTIVE ELECTRO-OPTICAL CABLE ASSEMBLY FOR HIGH-DENSITY DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for active electro-optical cable assemblies for high-density data transmission systems. An active electro-optical cable assembly may include comprises multi-lane copper cable array assemblies connected to small form factor connectors at a processing unit. At the end of the copper cable arrays, an electro-optical component may be used to convert electrical signals into optical signals. The optical signals may be coupled, via a fiber connector, to optical fibers. The optical fibers may be terminated with a multi-fiber push on connector for pluggable or pigtailed connections.

Inventors

• Young-Kai Chen
• Anna Tatarczak
• Stephen Nelson

Assignees

• II-VI DELAWARE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251104

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A system comprising: one or more active electro-optical cable assemblies, wherein each active electro-optical cable assembly comprises: a small form factor connector configured to engage a processing unit; a multi-lane cable configured for carrying a plurality of electrical signals; and an electro-optical component configured to convert the plurality of electrical signals to optical signals; wherein the multi-lane cable is connected at one end to the small form factor connector and to the electro-optical component on the other end; and wherein the electro-optical component is connected to an optical fiber for coupling the optical signals to the optical fiber.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein a multi-lane cable comprises a multi-lane copper cable array.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each active electro-optical cable assembly further comprises a fiber connector configured for connecting the electro-optical component to the optical fiber.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical component is connected to the optical fiber using a parallel optics configuration.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical component is connected to the optical fiber using a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optics configuration.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises, at least, a first active electro-optical cable assembly and a second active electro-optical cable assembly, wherein the electro-optical component in the first active electro-optical cable assembly is connected to the optical fiber using a parallel optics configuration, and wherein the electro-optical component in the second active electro-optical cable assembly is connected to the optical fiber using a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optics configuration.
7. 7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber is terminated with a multi-fiber push on (MPO) connector.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber comprises at least one of single-mode (SM) fiber, multimode (MM) fiber, MM fiber bunch, and multi-core fiber.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical component comprises one or more of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), indium phosphide (InP) devices, and silicon photonics (SiP) elements.
10. 10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical component comprises one or more integrated lasers.
11. 11 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a substrate, and wherein the processing unit and the small form factor connector are disposed on the substrate.
12. 12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit is disposed on one side of the substrate, and wherein the small form factor connector is disposed on a same one side of the substrate and is located next or near to the processing unit.
13. 13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit is disposed on a one side of the substrate, and wherein the small form factor connector is disposed on an opposite side of the substrate.
14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the small form factor connector extends underneath the processing unit.
15. 15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the electro-optical component and a fiber connector that engages the electro-optical component are configured to utilize an electro-optical (E/O) array having a two-dimensional (2D) layout.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) layout comprises one of a 2D aligned rectangular layout, a 2D staggered rectangular layout, and a 2D staggered circular (or hexagonal) layout.
17. 17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the small form factor connector comprises an electrical pluggable connector configured to engage the processing unit in removable manner.
18. 18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the small form factor connector comprises an electrical connector configured to engage the multi-lane cable by clamping down.
19. 19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit comprises a graphics processing unit (GPU) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
20. 20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a co-packaged optics (CPO) system or a near-packaged optics (NPO) system.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY This patent application claims priority to and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/717,500, filed on Nov. 7, 2025. The above identified application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD Aspects of the present disclosure relate to optical communication related solutions. More specifically, certain implementations of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for implementing and utilizing active electro-optical cable assemblies for high-density data transmission systems. BACKGROUND Limitations and disadvantages of conventional solutions for handling optical signals, and in particular cable assemblies for use in data transmission systems, will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings. BRIEF SUMMARY System and methods are provided for active electro-optical cable assemblies for high-density data transmission systems, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present disclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly with optical fibers in a parallel optics configuration, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly that uses optical fibers in a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optics configuration, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly that uses both a parallel optics configuration and a WDM optics configuration, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly that uses a pluggable 2D connector plugged on the top of the substrate, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly that uses a pluggable 2D connector plugged on the bottom of the substrate, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates an example active electro-optical cable assembly that uses an alternative pluggable 2D connector plugged on the bottom of the substrate, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates different example connector and electro-optical (E/O) array layouts, in accordance with various example implementations of this disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates to the field of optical communications and high-speed data transmissions. In particular, solutions based on the present disclosure are directed to new and improved components for use in high-speed data transmission systems. In this regard, current systems and methods for high-speed data transmission (e.g., in data centers) may use transceivers for converting electrical signals to optical signals. However, current transceivers and use thereof may have some limitations and/or pose some challenges. For example, because these transceivers require energy-consuming re-timers and digital signal processors (DSPs) to manage signal integrity and transmission speeds, current approaches add latency, power consumption and complexity. Emerging solutions, such as Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) and Near-Packaged Optics (NPO), attempt to address these limitations and/or challenges by integrating optical components more closely with processing components, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU) or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), to increase bandwidth. However, such CPO and NPO systems introduce new constraints. For example, CPO and NPO systems may operate in thermally harsh environments that place a considerable burden on optical components, reducing reliability and performance. Additionally, CPO and NPO designs may require high-speed electrical vias in the substrates, adding substantial complexity to integration processes and increasing production costs. The present disclosure is directed to improving high-speed data transmission systems, particularly by providing new designs, for use in transceivers utilized in facilitating and/or supporting high-speed data transmission, which overcome at least some of limitations and/or challenges associated with current designs. In particular, in various embodiments based on the present disclosure, active electro-optical cable assemblies that overcome these limitations and/or challenges are provided, being configured to enable a modular, efficient and