CPO optical modules put optical and electronic parts together. They make the signal path much shorter, from centimeters to millimeters. This can cut power use by up to half. CPO technology lets more data fit in. Today, data centers use a separate approach for optics and electronics, in which optical modules are connected to switches and routers through high-speed electrical interfaces. Unlike traditional pluggable optics that rely on separate modules connected through. Co-packaged optics (CPO) technology, a key enabler for next-generation data center architectures, promises unprecedented bandwidth density and power efficiency by tightly integrating optical engines with switch silicon. But after nearly a decade of existence, where does this next-generation optical. In traditional switch hardware, data is sent over optical fibre using pluggable transceiver modules (SFP, QSFP, etc. These modules convert electrical signals from the switch ASIC into light and back, with each link carrying tens or hundreds of gigabits.
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