Freescale, Alcatel to collaborate on single-chip GPON

Freescale Semiconductor will collaborate with passive optical network (PON) and DSL system leader Alcatel SA on system-on-a-chip solutions for gigabit passive optical networks.

The SoC solutions will include both optical network termination and optical line termination devices, though the design efforts will be weighted heavily toward the former client-side devices.

Niket Jindal, PON program manager at Freescale, said Alcatel is sufficiently serious about boosting the PON market that it will offer MAC-layer digital intellectual property for Freescale to use as part of a merchant-market solution.

Freescale will combine this with DSP blocks for voice-over-IP and other functions, mixed-signal blocks for clock and data recovery and G.984 cryptography cores. The chips will support bandwidths of 2.5Gbps downstream, 1.25Gbps upstream and will include dual Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Jindal said "our entry into [broadband] PON was simple and slow, with an FPGA and a processor and clock recovery in separate chips in the first generation of solutions. We and Alcatel are agreed on driving GPON quickly, and will collaborate closely on these SoC designs. Our first SoC will be based on 90nm technology."

Freescale is not alone in employing SoC methodology for GPON. Broadlight Inc. announced SoC solutions for OLTs and ONTs in May. Freescale also must face a group of semiconductor startups focusing on Ethernet-based EPON and GEPON. They include Passave Technologies Inc. and Teknovus Inc.

- Loring Wirbel

EE Times