The optical module is related to the total computing power and traffic scale of the planned and constructed data center. As the fundamental component of data transmission, optical modules play a crucial role in AI construction. At present, the rapid growth in the training volume of artificial intelligence models has led to a demand for the construction of high-performance AI server clusters.
In AI computing, when the GPU computing power is increased by 2.5-3.2 times, its total bandwidth requirement for fusion is increased by about 1.5 times. As a necessary optoelectronic conversion component in network devices, the bandwidth demand improvement brought by AI high-performance computing will drive the high-speed and high-end process of optical modules.
The current development of communication optical connections within the cluster is towards high speed and high density, and the update iteration of 800G and 1.6T optical modules will also accelerate.
Due to the current lack of mass production of 1.6T optical modules, the demand for communication bandwidth in next-generation high-performance computing devices makes it impossible for cloud manufacturers to avoid the procurement demand for 800G, resulting in 800G being at a high level of procurement for a longer time than 400G and 100G. The AI big model represented by ChatGPT has put forward new requirements for data traffic both inside and outside the data center, which is expected to accelerate the upgrade of optical modules to higher speed 800G.
At present, optical modules are in the early stages of progress from 400G to 800G. Low power consumption and high-speed performance will significantly increase the proportion of 800G optical modules driven, as the power consumption of high-speed modules is relatively low. For example, the early power consumption of 400G optical modules is about 10-12W, and the long-term power consumption is about 10W, while the power consumption of 800G optical modules is about 16W.
As optical modules enter the 800G era, the integration and power consumption issues of traditional optical modules will become more prominent. Silicon optical technology can break through the development bottleneck of traditional optical modules and promote the development of optical modules towards high speed, low power consumption, and high integration (such as 1.6T optical modules).
According to Light Counting, the shipment volume of 800G optical modules will rapidly increase in the second half of 2023, and it will replace the dominant market of 400G in 2025, accounting for about 50% of the market. The market size is 15.8 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth rate of 78%.
The rapid development of AI currently requires continuous improvement in computing power performance, which will significantly drive the rapid growth of demand for 800G high-speed optical module solutions. At the same time, this trend will also accelerate the research and development, implementation, and scaling up of new solutions such as 1.6T and 3.2T, driving the continuous increase in product value. Overall, in the context of the new wave of AI, high-speed optical modules represented by 800G will enter a stage of rapid development with both quantity and price.
