Optical Interconnects Debuted at ECOC 2026
New hardware demonstrations in Málaga aim to resolve bandwidth and thermal bottlenecks in AI data center architectures.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Data Centers
Live Poll
Do you expect new optical communication technologies to improve the speed of your internet services?
Industry leaders showcased advanced optical interconnect technologies at the European Conference on Optical Communications in Málaga. These demonstrations address critical scaling challenges in AI infrastructure by increasing data density and power efficiency.
Why it matters
As AI clusters grow, traditional copper interconnects face severe power and bandwidth limitations. These optical solutions provide the necessary throughput to support large-scale GPU integration and distributed computing architectures.
Avicena demonstrated a microLED optical interconnect featuring 335 independent data channels, while Lumentum showcased an eight-wavelength DWDM laser module with 250 mW of optical output power per wavelength.
The players
Avicena
A developer specializing in optical interconnect technology for high-performance computing and AI clusters.
Lumentum
A manufacturer of optical and photonic components, including high-power lasers for data center infrastructure.
Qualcomm Technologies
A semiconductor company focused on wireless communications and high-performance computing chips.
Corning
A global leader in materials science, primarily known for advanced glass and optical fiber products for connectivity.
Coherent
A provider of lasers and integrated optics platforms for industrial, communication, and electronic applications.
The details
Avicena's system utilizes a connectorized microLED — a semiconductor device that emits light at the micrometer scale — configuration compatible with an MPO form factor for multicore fiber bundles. Lumentum's module employs a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) process, which multiplexes multiple optical carrier signals onto a single optical fiber using different laser wavelengths, specifically centered at 1311 nm and 1331 nm.
Timeline
September 2026: ECOC 2026 occurred in Málaga, Spain.
The Tech Race
The European Conference on Optical Communications serves as the primary industry venue where manufacturers align on future physical layer standards for next-generation data center networking. These developments represent a critical push to move optics closer to the processor, outpacing the bandwidth capacities of electrical copper cabling.
These interconnects are designed for enterprise and cloud data centers to improve AI training speeds and reduce power consumption per gigabit. While currently demonstrated in hardware evaluation kits, these technologies will eventually enable higher-density server clusters for AI services.
The takeaway
The race to miniaturize optical components is critical for overcoming thermal and power constraints in AI scale-up architectures. Watch for the transition of these ELSFP modules from exhibition prototypes into commercial data center deployment cycles.
Further reading
For more on the infrastructure supporting modern AI, explore the Data Centers section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Optics.
Live Poll
Do you expect new optical communication technologies to improve the speed of your internet services?
