Overview

• Cadence showcased a PCIe 7.0 connection reaching 128 GT/s using off-the-shelf optical parts at PCI-SIG DevCon 2024.
• The demonstration maintained a pre-FEC BER of ~3E-8, exceeding PCIe specifications, over two days without interruptions.
• Optical PCIe connectors offer potential benefits for enterprise applications, including hyperscale, cloud computing, and data centers.
• PCIe 7.0 specifications are still being finalized, with real-world hardware expected by 2028.
• The PCI-SIG group is developing technology-agnostic specifications to support a wide range of optical technologies.