In a significant advancement for AI infrastructure, Keysight Technologies has introduced an Electrical-Optical-Electrical (EOE) simulation solution within its ADS 2026 platform. This tool enables engineers to simulate electrical-to-optical-to-electrical signal chains, meeting the growing demand for faster optical links in high-performance computing environments.
As the industry shifts towards higher data transmission rates, projections suggest that by 2029, 87% of hyperscale optical transceivers will operate at 800Gbps or greater, with speeds of 1.6Tbps and 3.2Tbps on the horizon. Such increased speeds require a modeling approach that integrates both electrical and optical domains, a capability the new EOE simulation provides. Traditional simulation workflows often treat these domains separately, which can overlook how their interactions affect overall system performance.
Enhanced Simulation Capabilities
The EOE capability in ADS 2026 allows engineers to simulate the complete signal path—from transmitters to electrical receivers—within a single workflow. This integrated approach enables teams to model interactions across various domains, improving their ability to evaluate both electrical and optical design tradeoffs early in the design cycle. The solution builds on Keysight's existing High-Speed Digital workflow and incorporates tools from Keysight Photonic Designer, ensuring teams can assess signal integrity against high-speed standards before hardware implementation.
Key advantages of this new simulation capability include:
- Early Detection of Signal Integrity Issues: Engineers can spot problems that span both electrical and optical domains before prototyping, leading to a more accurate assessment of high-speed SerDes digital channels and photonics integrated circuit behavior.
- Realistic Full-Duplex Optical Simulation: The ability to simulate bidirectional optical links as they function in real-world scenarios allows for accurate modeling of forward and backward signal propagation within an EOE channel.
- Evaluation of Nonlinear Effects: With support for wavelength division multiplexing, engineers can assess the impact of optical nonlinearities across multiple wavelengths, which is crucial for the performance of advanced optical links.
- Comprehensive Noise Modeling: The tool offers a complete view of system-level signal quality, modeling noise across both electrical and optical domains to reflect real conditions instead of isolating each domain.
- Prevention of Nonlinear Effects Before Hardware Implementation: By capturing modulator bias-dependent and large-signal nonlinear effects within end-to-end simulations, teams can address issues before they reach the hardware stage.
Implications for the Future
As the demand for high-speed data transmission continues to rise, the introduction of the EOE simulation in ADS 2026 represents a key response to the evolving needs of AI infrastructure. This tool enhances the design process and equips engineers to handle the complexities associated with next-generation optical transceivers. With the market moving towards increasingly sophisticated interconnects, the ability to model interactions across domains will be essential for optimizing performance and reliability.
Looking ahead, Keysight Technologies' innovation is poised to significantly impact advancements in high-performance computing, ultimately benefiting the broader AI ecosystem. The new EOE capabilities could transform how engineers tackle the challenges of integrating optical and electrical systems, paving the way for future breakthroughs in data transmission technology.
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