Benefits of introducing CPO

The introduction of CPO primarily provides the following three benefits.

1. Significant reduction in power consumption
   By replacing wiring with optical wiring, CPO prevents signal degradation (weakening/distortion) caused by long-distance electrical wiring. Power consumption in the I/O section can be reduced to approximately 30% compared to conventional methods.
2. Improved device performance through better cooling efficiency
   By reducing power consumption, the energy previously allocated to cooling can be utilized elsewhere. Since more processing equipment can be mounted in a device of the same size, this leads to improved computational power.
3. Achieving business expansion through low-cost operation
   Initial investment and operating costs are significantly reduced, allowing those management resources to be allocated to data center expansion and AI development. This enables the provision of more advanced AI services and promotes the development of the industry as a whole.

Ripple effects

Challenges in CPO development

Addressing temperature dependency

In CPO, since high-heat chips and temperature-sensitive optical components are in the same package, thermal management becomes the biggest challenge. It is necessary not just to dissipate heat, but to keep the temperature in a stable state. In addition, multiple measures such as cooling performance and material selection are required.

Maintainability and replaceability

In conventional methods, it was possible to replace only the failed component, but in CPO, optical processing is integrated within the package. Since the entire device must be replaced in the event of a failure, increased recovery work and maintenance costs are a challenge.

Mass production technology and yield

Alignment accuracy is critical in the optical signal connection process. Because even a slight misalignment affects the signal, maintaining uniform quality as production volume increases is a challenge. In mass production, the number of products requiring re-inspection and re-adjustment tends to increase, which can lead to a sharp rise in associated correction costs.

The necessity of yield improvement

Because the proportion of process costs for assembly and testing is high, not just material costs, ingenuity is required to reduce the cost per unit even as production volume increases. By improving yields and automating processes, the cost per unit can be kept down.