In optical scale-up interconnects for data centers, the link budget is shaped less by the fiber than by two other loss points: the connector and the silicon-photonics platform. The source material frames these interfaces as the main avoidable contributors to attenuation, making them decisive for how much margin remains in the overall optical path.
The article’s core point is that fiber performance alone does not determine system reach. Instead, the optical path is constrained by the insertion losses introduced at the connector interface and by losses inside the silicon-photonics platform itself. Those two elements can consume the budget before the signal even traverses the full fiber span.
This shifts attention to the practical interfaces around the photonic link rather than to the transmission medium alone. In systems where optical scale-up is used for data-center connectivity, the connector is not a peripheral detail: it is one of the places where avoidable loss accumulates most directly.
That also means the platform architecture matters alongside the interconnect hardware. The source specifically identifies silicon photonics as part of the loss budget, indicating that the internal optical coupling and routing on the platform are part of the same constraint as the external connector interface.
As a result, the article places the decisive optical trade-off at the boundary between modules and platform. The practical message is narrow but clear: in these links, the connector and the silicon-photonics platform can dominate the budget more than the fiber section itself.