Broadcom is taking on the 400-Gig-per-lane optical PAM-for-DSP challenge with its Taurus BCM 83640, optimized for 1.6-T transceiver solutions. The device features a 400 Gbps serial optical. Faces that enable optical transceiver manufacturers to cost-effectively deliver 1.6 T pluggable modules to meet the growing bandwidth needs, along with lower power consumption requirements for AI data centers.

The 400 gigabit-per-lane (400G/lane) optical PAM-4 DSP is the next-generation technology for high-speed data center connectivity, designed to double the throughput per optical lane compared to current 200G/lane solutions. This advancement is critical for AI infrastructure, enabling 1.6T and 3.2T optical transceivers and supporting future 204.8T switching capacities.

In this latest Broadband Pulse podcast, we talked with two key members of Broadcom's optical networking team, leading the company's latest 400G/lane optical DSP efforts, as well as being a co-founder of the new Optical Scale-up Consortium:

Natarajan Ramachandran, director, product marketing at Broadcom

And

Khushrow Machhi, senior director, product marketing at Broadcom

0.00 Opening

0:03 Introducing our guests

0:59 OFC 2026 expectations Ramachandran and Machhi share their expectations for the OFC 2026 show.

6:44 400G/lane optical How 400G per lane technologies are the next evolution of the 200G per lane architectures.

9:34 Broadcom’s new Taurus BCM 83640 How Taurus supports 8 lanes of 200G traffic from a GPU, an XPU, or a switch and converts it into four lanes of 400G traffic.

11:31 Taurus’ support for optical modules from 1.6 T to 3.2T How the platform reflects the next generation of gearboxes and retimers.

13:10 Addressing customer expectations Taurus will address the roadmap to 3.2T pluggables.

14:27 The importance of interoperability In addition to its active roles with the OIF and IEEE, Broadcom is a founding member of the new Optical Scale-up Consortium.

15:57 Final Thoughts/Closing

Meet our guests

Natarajan Ramachandran, director, product marketing at Broadcom Based in San Jose, Natarajan Ramachandran is a director of product marketing at Broadcom. He brings experience from previous roles at Broadcom, Biomorphic and Philips Semiconductors. He is responsible for Business Development, Product Management & Product Marketing for high-speed networking PHYs within the Semiconductor industry, focused on Datacom (Hyperscale/Cloud and Enterprise Data Centers), Telecom, and high-performance computing (AI/ML) markets. Ramachandran holds an MBA in Finance, Global Economics and Management at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He also holds an MS in electrical engineering, integrated circuits and systems from UCLA.

And Khushrow Machhi, senior director, product marketing at Broadcom Macchi oversees product marketing at Broadcom with a particular focus on optical networking technologies, including the datacom (Hyperscale/Cloud and Enterprise Data Centers), Telecom and High-Performance Computing (AI/ML) markets. Macchi has worked at Broadcom for over 24 years. Previously, he held positions at Level One Communications / Intel. He holds an MBA in marketing from San Diego University and a degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address key issues affecting the optical and broadband industries. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and click on our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com/.