MARCH 17, 2009 By Stephen Hardy -- ClariPhy Communications Inc. (search Lightwave for ClariPhy) has launched its CL1012 10-Gbps clock and data recovery (CDR) IC with maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) technology for electronic dispersion compensation (EDC). The device is designed to enable module vendors to extend the reach of 10-Gbps signals.
The technology is similar to what CoreOptics (search Lightwave for CoreOptics) uses in its extended reach offerings. Paul Voois, CEO of ClariPhy, asserts his company's device offers CoreOptics' competitors -- as well as systems-level customers -- with a low-power, high-performance option to field such capabilities themselves. The device already has earned multiple design wins, he says. However, he declined to reveal the names of the companies involved.
MLSE (which ClariPhy originally marketed as "maximum likelihood sequence detection" or MLSD) has generally been acknowledged as a better performing EDC approach than the decision feedback equalization (DFE) commonly used in 10GBase-LRM modules for the enterprise space. Voois, in fact, says it offers approximately a 4-dB signal-to-noise ratio advantage. However, MLSE has been criticized for its comparatively high cost.
Voois says ClariPhy has addressed this shortcoming through its use of 65-nm CMOS processes. The device consumes less than 2 W, he says. It also integrates ADC and DSP functions, as well as built-in pattern generators and BER detectors. The chip comes in a 10x10-mm, 144-lead PBGA package. It operates at data rates from 9.9 to 11.4 Gbps and tolerates ±4,000 psec/nm of chromatic dispersion and 100 psec of differential group delay.
The device can be used in a variety of module formats, from 300-pin to XFP and XFPe. However, Voois says the company also has received interest from systems houses looking to complete their own designs.
"As a leading vendor of optical modules for telecom networks, we are excited to see ClariPhy launch the CL1012 CDR with MLSE," said Chris Clarke, vice president of strategy and chief engineer at Bookham. "We believe that MLSE offers significant value to telecom carriers, and that the CL1012 hits the power, performance and cost targets necessary for its adoption."
Voois says the company has been sampling the CL1012 for six months; the product should be officially released in the second quarter of this year. Related devices are on the near-term roadmap as well.
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