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Glossary • CPO

What is co-packaged optics?

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Co-packaged optics (CPO) puts the optical transceiver, the engine that converts electrical signals to light, on the same package as, or right next to, a switch or compute chip instead of in a pluggable module at the front panel. Shortening the electrical path cuts interconnect power in AI clusters.

How is co-packaged optics standardised?

The Optical Internetworking Forum's 3.2T Co-Packaged Module Implementation Agreement (announced April 2023) defines a 3.2 Tb/s co-packaged optical module. These modules serve as building blocks for lower-power 51.2 Tb/s switches, with 16 modules arranged close to the switch chip. Variants include 8×400GBASE-DR4, 8×400GBASE-FR4 and a copper-cable-attach version.

What do vendors claim for co-packaged optics?

NVIDIA's silicon photonics page says placing silicon photonics on the same package as the chip removes DSP retimers, and claims "5x better power efficiency over pluggable transceivers"; it lists Spectrum-X Ethernet Photonics as available in the second half of 2026. Broadcom describes Tomahawk 6 – Davisson as a third-generation CPO Ethernet switch at 102.4 Tb/s and 200 Gb/s per channel, with a claimed cut of about 70% in optical interconnect power versus pluggables. These are vendor claims, and we read Broadcom's release through a syndicated copy because its investor site blocked automated access.

How does CPO differ from near-package optics and pluggables?

Pluggable transceivers are the incumbent design. Near-package optics keep the optical engine just outside the main package, trading some power for serviceability and a smaller failure blast radius, as our OCP 2026 analysis discusses. Our own research argues that optics' durable advantage is moving data rather than computing, and that the interconnect case is strongest in decode: see The wrong phase, which also notes that NVIDIA's CPO efficiency figure moved from 3.5× at its 2025 launch to 5× on the current page.

Where can I read more on NeuroGenesys?

Sources

  1. OIF-Co-Packaging-3.2T-Module-01.0 Implementation Agreement — OIF, 2023
  2. Silicon Photonics networking products — NVIDIA (vendor claims)
  3. Broadcom Announces Tomahawk 6 – Davisson — Broadcom, October 2025
  4. The wrong phase: optical interconnect's case is in decode, not prefill — NeuroGenesys, July 2026

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