Copper cable solutions, traditionally used for short-distance intra-rack interconnects, are increasingly facing challenges in both transmission density and energy efficiency. By comparison, micro-LED co-packaged optics (CPOs) offer significantly lower energy consumption per. The rise of cloud computing, AI-driven applications, 4K and 8K video, and the Internet of Things (IoT) requires faster, more reliable, and energy-efficient transmission solutions. Optical connectivity, utilizing fiber-optic technology, has emerged as the superior choice for modern networking. Here, we show that the mature VCSEL technology offers the ideal combination of low-cost, low-latency, high-reliability, and energy efficiency at all bitrates, thanks to their unique versatility and high wall-plug-efficiency. While fiber optics dominate in performance, copper retains its technical and economic justification. Let's take a deeper look at their.
[PDF Version]