LiteWave800™

AI technologies are pushing data centers harder than ever, fueling the need for higher-speed links between servers, switches and GPU nodes that must perform within strict power, space and latency constraints. To achieve this, modern architectures need 800Gbit/s optical transceivers that significantly reduce energy usage and latency across short-reach connections. Linear pluggable optics (LPOs) have been designed to address these challenges. Unlike traditional retimed optics, they leverage the host’s built-in ASIC capabilities to eliminate the need for a module DSP and its associated power and latency, enabling a more energy-efficient link design. With LiteWave800™, Adtran has pushed this efficiency to unprecedented levels, delivering an 800Gbit/s pluggable optic operating at just 1pJ/bit – a new power class for 800Gbit/s optics.

Our LiteWave800™ redefines low-power high-speed optics by achieving 1pJ/bit power efficiency. This delivers more than an order‑of‑magnitude improvement over typical 800Gbit/s PAM4 DSP‑based pluggables operating at 15–20pJ/bit. It also reduces energy per bit to approximately one‑sixth to one‑tenth that of today’s LPOs or co-packaged optics (CPOs) operating at 5–8pJ/bit, representing a true quantum leap in power reduction. Unlike traditional LPOs that simply remove the DSP, LiteWave800™ uses a fully re-engineered architecture combining single-mode VCSEL (SM-VCSEL) technology with in-house electronics to optimize energy per bit and minimize latency. What’s more, it uses the CMIS-VCS communication protocol to enhance signal integrity, while maintaining the existing network operating model. With its standardized 100G-DR-LPO optical interface and OSFP form factor, LiteWave800™ ensures broad compatibility with existing host devices and interoperability in multi-vendor environments.

LiteWave800™ builds on our proven optical expertise and vertical-integration innovation to deliver reliable, low-power and high-performance intra-data-center connectivity. Through active participation in the LPO Multi-Source Agreement (LPO-MSA) group, we ensure a standardized design that simplifies integration across multi-vendor environments. This standards-driven approach, combined with a purpose-built architecture, sets LiteWave800™ apart from other 800Gbit/s LPOs and competing pluggable technologies such as CPOs. The result is dramatically lower power consumption and latency with the performance and reliability required for next-generation AI-driven data centers.