Semtech quad 25-Gbps chipset for 100GBase-SR4 optical modules in production

Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC) says the GN2108 and GN2109 chipset for quad-channel 100GBase-SR4 optical modules and active optical cables is now in production. The chips support operation at 25.78 Gbps.

The GN2108 is a quad-channel CDR with integrated vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) drivers; the GN2109 quad-channel CDR features integrated transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs). The devices offer best-in-class link performance, significant flexibility, and lower design cost, the company asserts.

The GN2108 VCSEL driver compensates for the optical distortion VCSELs introduce. This ability provides several benefits:

• extended reach beyond the 300 m of OM4 fiber the SR standard specifies and greater than 150 m on OM3 multimode fiber
• operation with lower bandwidth and lower cost VCSELs
• operation with lower VCSEL bias settings for lower power and higher VCSEL reliability.
  

Meanwhile, the GN2109's input sensitivity makes it useful for both SR4 as well as PSM4 optical interconnects.

The digital circuitry of the GN2108 and GN2109, together with a set of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs), enables a complete set of alarms and monitoring, Semtech adds.

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