Pilot Photonics Accelerates Optical Connectivity for AI Datacentres with 16-Channel O-Band Lasers

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pilot Photonics, a leader in advanced laser solutions for high-speed optical interconnects, today announced the launch of its first O-band laser products designed to support the growing demand for scalable, parallel optics in datacentres and AI systems.

The company is introducing two 16-channel 200 GHz spaced O-band laser products, aligned to the continuous wave wavelength division multiplexing (CW-WDM) multi-source agreement (MSA):

• A 16-channel O-band laser array chip, developed for integration into external laser modules for co-packaged optics and optical IO implementations.
• A 16-channel O-band laser instrument for R&D labs and test and measurement applications, with output configurations including individual fibers, MPO and fiber ribbon, single fiber WDM, and star coupler for 256 channels in a 16 x 16 configuration.

These products are aimed at enabling rapid prototyping and system development for CW-WDM architectures. Designed for high-density optical interconnects, they offer a robust and flexible light source platform aligned with the needs of AI/ML, cloud infrastructure, and high-performance computing.

Pilot Photonics is also developing a fully integrated OIF-compliant ELSFP module, building on this laser array platform. Future devices will incorporate the company's proprietary ExCELS™ technology, which uniquely combines the stability, accuracy and coherence of comb lasers with the flexibility and performance of discrete laser arrays—bringing precision, scalability, and low noise to next-generation optics.

"These new laser products give module and system developers tools to accelerate the deployment of dense high speed optical interconnect in today's AI and cloud datacentres," said Frank Smyth, CTO of Pilot Photonics. "And we have enhancements coming that integrate our comb laser technology to enable dramatic power reduction and even greater capacity scaling to future-proof these datacentre networks"

To further reinforce its commitment to industry interoperability, Pilot Photonics has joined the CW-WDM MSA consortium. It is aligning its new products and roadmap to the MSA's specifications, supporting the industry's transition to modular, interoperable, multi-wavelength solutions.

The Pilot Photonics team will be found on Booth #5007 at this week's OFC in San Francisco, where they will be discussing their 16-channel O-band laser products and showcasing their nano-iTLA for coherent datacentre interconnect transceivers which is now sampling to customers. 

Notes to Editors

Pilot Photonics Founder and CTO Dr. Frank Smyth is available for briefings.

Website:  www.pilotphotonics.com/
Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/pilotphotonics/posts 

About Pilot Photonics

Pilot Photonics is a leading innovator in tunable and multi-wavelength laser technology for high-speed optical communications. Its patented comb laser solutions enable dense, energy-efficient interconnects for AI datacentres, telecom networks, and space systems. Founded by pioneers in optical comb technology, the company is driving the transition to the Everything over Optical™ era. 

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