MaxLinear, announced the availability of its Washington TIA, a four-channel, 200G per lane transimpedance amplifier designed for 1.6T optical transceiver modules used in AI data center applications.
The Washington TIA provides a low-power, low-noise linear analog front end for next-generation optical architectures as hyperscale data centers increase bandwidth and reach to support larger AI clusters. It is the first product in a planned family of low-noise TIAs that will support fully retimed, half-retimed, and linear interfaces, including LRO/LPO, NPO, XPO, and CPO applications.
The device complements MaxLinear’s portfolio of DSPs, TIAs, drivers, and SERDES, allowing customers to build systems optimized for specific performance, power, and reach requirements. It is built in a robust, high-yielding SiGe process technology and features a high-bandwidth analog front end optimized for power efficiency and noise performance.
Key specifications include approximately 750mW typical power consumption for four channels, 750µm lane spacing, low noise, low group delay, excellent linearity, integrated programmable automatic gain control (AGC), integrated photodiode bias, per-channel received signal strength indicator (RSSI), I2C control and monitoring, and an advanced SiGe process node.
Washington interoperates with PAM4 DSPs from major vendors and is pad-compatible with other leading TIAs and most flip-chip high-speed photodetectors, simplifying integration into 1.6T module designs. When paired with MaxLinear’s Rushmore PAM4 DSP, it enables additional system-level optimization through analog-digital co-optimization. Its flat frequency response is designed to minimize the impact of high-frequency system parasitics.
Rajneesh Gaur, SVP & GM of the Data Center Connectivity Business Unit at MaxLinear, stated that the TIA market for AI data center connectivity represents a growth opportunity. Industry analysts project the fully retimed pluggable optics market with TIAs to exceed 150 million units by 2030, with the LPO and LRO segments surpassing 20 million units. Washington and future TIA products are positioned for these segments.
The announcement notes that data center networks are transitioning from 800G toward 1.6T and beyond, creating pressure to scale bandwidth while managing power consumption, signal integrity, and total cost of ownership.
Washington expands MaxLinear’s portfolio of connectivity solutions for AI-driven scale-up and scale-out architectures in both optical and copper interconnects. The company’s Keystone DSP platform is in volume production for 400G and 800G applications. The 1.6T Rushmore family of optical DSPs with integrated drivers and the Annapurna copper DSP for active electrical cables are sampling. The 16-lane, 3.2T Makalu on-board scale-up retimer is scheduled to sample in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Samples of the Washington TIA are available now, with mass production scheduled for the second half of 2026.
