Coherent Optics vs Direct Detection for AI-Cluster Interconnects

Links inside AI clusters require a choice about how much of a light signal's information to recover. Direct-detection optics measure only pulse brightness, making them cheap and simple but limited to short reaches and needing more fibers for equal capacity. Coherent transceivers also recover phase, packing more bits per wavelength over longer distances, though their digital signal processors draw several watts even when unnecessary. The article argues the two options reflect different tradeoffs about where complexity and uncertainty sit, and that budgeting structures often influence the choice as much as measurements do. Distance generally determines which approach wins, since short intra-rack links waste coherent reach while campus or inter-cluster links benefit from it.
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