hf/rf ZONE Products for the week of September 24, 2001
AMCC Says . . .
AMCC Builds on High-Performance OC-768 Solution Offering
with Introduction of the
Industry-Leading 48 Gbps Silicon Germanium Modulator Driver
Integrating an exceptional combination of adjust capabilities
including cross point, swing and bias level, the S76803 provides customers
with a flexible, feature-rich solution for use in electroabsorption modulator
and differential Lithium Niobate applications
Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) announced the S76803, the industry-leading OC-768 silicon germanium (SiGe) modulator driver. Operating at speeds of up to 48 Gbps, this high-performance, feature-rich device is ideally suited for use in short-reach and long-reach SONET-based fiber optic data link applications within the MAN and WAN marketplace. Designed for use in electroabsorption modulators (EAM) and differential lithium niobate (LiN) modulators, the S76803 offers a 3.5V (single-ended) and 7V (differential) output swing. The device's cross point, swing and bias level adjustable output capabilities offer customers outstanding flexibility and integration while simultaneously maximizing performance in a single device.
"The S76803 modulator driver provides one of the key building blocks, which allow customers to more easily design optical transceiver and transponder modules for the MAN as the demand for higher speeds continues to grow," said Oswin Schreiber, senior product marketing manager. "The OC-768 optical link we exhibited at SuperComm 2001 reinforces AMCC's commitment to supplying customers with complete high-speed solutions for the world's evolving optical networks and delivers on our promise of providing commercially available silicon devices for 40 Gbps applications."
The S76803 device provides high-speed voltage drive in an EAM or differential
LiN modulator for SONET OC-768 fiber optic transmitters operating up to
48 Gbits per second. The output features offered with this device adjust
and monitor, so that customers can optimize the device's output drive waveform.
As a result, customers need only apply a single voltage to the driver, which
enables the modulator to perform at the optimal point of operation. For
added flexibility, the S76803 allows customers to directly adjust the driver's
voltage and feed the signal to the optical device without having to build
additional components.
analogZONE Says . . .
This is proof-positive that the OC-768 market can be a reality in the not-too-distant future. This is a key part in the chain and it is good to see that silicon-germanium technology is the process achieving this initial success.
The S76803 is a 48-Gbit/s driver for an external optical modulator. It uses a -5.2 V supply and has a 50 ohm input amplifier with an on-chip dc cancellation circuit allowing signals to be directly coupled to it. The output voltage swing can be up to 7 V (differential) or 3.5 V single-ended with a low reflection coefficient. This output voltage can be externally programmed, as can the output cross point (duty cycle) and bias levels.
The S76803 is currently sampling to AMCC's development partners with
production release scheduled for the latter part of the year. No price was
quoted and the part will be available only in die. I could locate no data
sheet on the AMCC web site.