Switch Box Transceiver Cooling for High-Density Optical Ports

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Solution Overview

Problem

High-speed interconnect transceivers in server racks face challenges with heat dissipation, signal integrity, physical durability, and compatibility issues, leading to reduced performance and hardware failure.

Innovation Solution

Decoupling optical engines from optical fibers and integrating them in a transceiver module within a switch box, coupled with a cooling structure that dissipates heat using a coolant, allowing efficient cooling and increased port density.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If optical engines are integrated with optical fibers in a transceiver module, then port density is improved, but heat dissipation becomes more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveport densityVSAvoidheat dissipation

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the transceiver module into distinct functional components: optical engines, optical fiber interfaces, and a dedicated cooling structure. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the optical engines for high-speed data conversion and the cooling structure for efficient heat dissipation, thereby resolving the contradiction between integrating components for port density and managing heat generation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling structure acts as an intermediary between the heat-generating optical engines and the external environment. It mediates the thermal management challenge by providing a dedicated pathway for heat dissipation, allowing the optical engines to operate at high densities without suffering from thermal accumulation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If data transfer rate is increased to support AI tasks, then productivity is improved, but heat generation increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata transfer rateVSAvoidheat generation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling structure is designed and integrated in advance with the transceiver module, before the high-speed data transfer operations begin. This preliminary arrangement of cooling pathways and thermal management infrastructure enables the system to sustain high data transfer rates (1.6 Tb/s and 3.2 Tb/s) without experiencing thermal bottlenecks during operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of repair

If transceivers are frequently inserted and removed for maintenance, then ease of repair is improved, but physical durability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemaintenance accessibilityVSAvoidphysical durability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of repairVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the optical engine, optical fiber interface, and cooling structure into a single integrated transceiver module. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components that need to be handled during maintenance, thereby improving ease of repair while reducing physical wear on individual connection points. The unified module design maintains durability by minimizing the frequency of connector insertions and removals

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution effectively dissipates heat generated by high-speed transceivers, maintaining signal integrity, and enhances physical durability, supporting data transfer rates up to 1.6 Tb/s and 3.2 Tb/s while reducing hardware failure risks.

Implementation Method 1

A coolant is configured to flow through a body of the cooling structure to at least partially carry away the heat generated by the transceiver module

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Data Source

PatentUS20260032871A1Methods, Devices, and Systems for Dissipating Heat for High-Speed Interconnect Transceivers in Data Centers

Publication Date: 2026.01.29 SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC(US)

AI summary

This application is directed to heat dissipation for interconnect transceivers applied in a server system. A server rack includes a rack structure for supporting one or more rack servers and a switch box mechanically mounted on the rack structure. The switch box is configured to receive detachable optical interconnects, and includes a transceiver module and a cooling structure coupled to the transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to convert incoming signals to outgoing signals and generate heat while converting the incoming signals. The cooling structure is configured to inject a coolant via an inlet and output the coolant via an outlet, thereby allowing the coolant to at least partially carry away the heat generated by the transceiver module. In some embodiments, the cooling structure includes a metallic plate, which comes into contact with the transceiver module via a contact surface for absorbing the heat generated by the transceiver module.