Gennum Unveils IC Solution for 16G Fiber Channel SFP+

Gennum Corporation, a provider of semiconductor solutions and intellectual property cores, reportedly has launched the so-called “16GFC SFP+” integrated circuit solution. According to the company, the IC solution is the first of its type.

 

It includes a clock and data recovery (with integrated limiting amplifier) IC, a CDR with integrated equalizer/laser driver IC, and a transimpedance amplifier, company officials say.

 

Designed as the most comprehensive 16GFC SFP+ solution, the new IC reportedly delivers the required performance demanded by networking and storage applications.

 

“By leveraging our proven CDR and TIA (News - Alert) technologies, we are first to market with a robust SFP+ IC solution that meets the jitter, cost, and power demands of next-generation 16G Fibre Channel applications,” said Bharat Tailor, director of Marketing for Networking, Storage and Computing for Gennum Corporation.

 

“This comprehensive solution will enable our customers to begin 16G Fiber Channel SFP+ module development today, giving them a critical time-to-market advantage,” added Tailor.

 

Gennum’s 16GFC SFP+ reference design incorporates the GN1065 TIA, GN2015, and GN2016 CDR devices.

 

The GN2015 CDR with an integrated, limiting amplifier is said to be ideal for the receive side of the module due to its high sensitivity and high input jitter tolerance. CDR functionality ensures a clean output signal for routing through the SFP+ connector and into the host system, thus allowing a direct connection between the SFP+ module and host ASICs.

 

The GN2016 CDR with integrated equalizer and vertical cavity surface emitting laser laser driver is targeted at the transmit side of the module as the equalizer is able to compensate for losses on the host board and in the SFP+ module, and the integrated VCSEL driver removes the need for a discrete component. The CDR portion of the GN2016 ensures a clean output for optical transmission.

 

Both transmit and receive devices operate reference-free and require a 3.3V power supply, making them ideal for SFP+ modules and backplane/copper interconnect applications.

 

Each of these devices is reported to be packaged in a 4mm x 4mm RoHS compliant 24-pin QFN package.

 

The GN1065 TIA provides 12GHz of bandwidth with only 1.2uA root mean square noise allowing for a sensitivity of -19dBm at 14.025Gb/s. Designed for use with PIN or APD diodes, the device includes features such as on-chip decoupling and a highly accurate RSSI circuit to ease implementation within any receiver package.

 

The power consumption for the 16GFC SFP+ reference design is said to leave ample margin to fit within the SFP+ 1W limit. Complete 16GFC SFP+ IC Solution is stated to deliver low-cost, high reliability solution for SFP+

 

Gennum said that the GN2015 and GN2016 CDR pair is priced at $12 in sample quantities. Apart from this, a complete SFP+ optical module reference design kit, including schematics, layout files and a design guide, is also available now. A complete copper cable assembly reference design kit, with or without cables, including schematics layout files and a design guide, is stated be available in June, 2009.

 

The company will demonstrate its new ICs and a corresponding SFP+ reference design at the Optical Fiber Conference and National Fiber Optics Engineers Conference this week.

 

The company has already started shipments of sample devices to several major module suppliers.