5 April 2012

GigOptix adds 135mW/channel parallel 16G VCSEL driver and TIA arrays for 40G/100G

GigOptix Inc of San Jose, CA, USA (which supplies semiconductor and optical components that enable high-speed end-to-end information streaming over networks) is sampling two new chip-sets, the HXT/R6104 4x16G and HXT/R6112 12x16G vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) driver and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) receiver arrays and for short-reach optical interconnects.

The new chip-sets consist of the 4-channel HXT6104 VCSEL driver and HXR6104 receiver amplifier chip-set and the 12-channel HXT6112 VCSEL driver and HXR6112 receiver amplifier chip-set.

The new design incorporates a unique channel architecture that enables programmable support for line speeds from 2.5Gbps up to 16Gbps. Its programmable equalization and pre-emphasis circuitry supports various trace lengths and its integrated digital-to-analog convertors (DAC) enable full digital control of the device through an industry-standard 2-wire interface which not only minimizes the number of components required to implement a transceiver but also lowers the final system complexity and cost.

The devices fully support the industry-standard 40GBASE-SR4, 100GBASE-SR10 and Infiniband FDR requirements in addition to emerging applications such as miniSAS. Moreover, the new architecture enables ultra-low power consumption of less than 135mW/channel for a 40Gbps link over 100m.

“Our latest generation of HXT/R6 parallel VCSEL drivers and TIAs was developed in close cooperation with a key Asia customer to provide high-performance ultra-low-power solutions for data-center and cloud computing applications,” says Martin Bossard, director of engineering & general manager for GigOptix-Helix AG. In a recent market report on 40G and 100G components, Ovum forecasted 222% compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) for this application space.

The new devices build upon GigOptix’s previous generation of devices and are fully software and form-factor compatible with the previous generation of VCSEL driver and TIA arrays. “This new generation provides not only improved performance in terms of higher speed and improved optical eye performance but it also dissipates 20% less power compared with the previous generation,” says Bossard.

Samples of the HXT/R6 series are available for evaluation with VCSEL and photodiodes on an evaluation board.

Tags: GigOptix VCSEL driver TIA arrays

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