Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. has announced the introduction of Cardinal, a pioneering family of 3nm low-power, highly integrated 224G/lane optical Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). This development is strategically designed to address the increasing demands for bandwidth, latency, and reliability within contemporary AI compute fabrics.
The Cardinal 1.6T optical DSP family is tailored to meet the extensive bandwidth, scalability, and power efficiency requirements essential for large-scale AI clusters. The architecture is well-established for its low power consumption, superior latency performance, and flexibility in supporting both retimed 1.6T optics and ultra-efficient linear-receive implementations.
The Cardinal family encompasses dedicated DSPs for both full-retimed and linear receive optics (LRO) applications. It enables the operation of 1.6T transceivers while providing a comprehensive link monitoring toolkit, all while consuming less than 15W in LRO configurations.
Key Features of the Cardinal DSP Family for AI Fabrics
- Proven seventh generation DSP architecture
- Dedicated 224G/lane solutions for both full retimed and linear receive optics (LRO) applications
- Integrated high-swing laser drivers suitable for both EML and silicon photonics
- Advanced diagnostics and predictive monitoring capabilities for ensuring high uptime within AI fabrics
- Ultra-low latency performance, measuring below 40 ns per direction
Credo is currently in the process of sampling the Cardinal DSP family to select lead customers, marking a significant advancement in optical technology aimed at enhancing AI-driven applications.