100G transmitter PHY ready for long haul optical transport

Semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom Corporation has recently unveiled what it touts as the world's fastest CMOS transmitter PHY for long-haul, regional and metropolitan data transport. The company's BCM84128 100G transmitter achieves an aggregate data rate of 128Gbit/s at the industry's lowest power of two watts, enabling high-capacity, 100G optical modules and line-card designs.

Lorenzo Longo, Broadcom's vice president for Physical Layer Products (PLP) said that the the BCM84128 high performance transmitter PHY reflects the industry-leading innovation we are known for, allowing OEMs to leverage 100G PHYs developed in standard CMOS process technology with its inherent advantages of lower power and reliability. He added that the product will provide the company with the opportunity to participate in a new market segment and pave the way for 100G optical transport.

Increased demand for broadband applications such as on-demand services and streaming video is exerting pressure on long-haul and metro networks, driving the need for higher data transmission rates. According to analyst firm Dell'Oro, demand for 100Gbit/s optical transport continues to grow as networks upgrade to terabit-capacity equipment in long haul and metro applications. Dell'Oro forecasts 100Gbit/s shipments to grow ~140 per cent in 2013.

The BCM84128 transmitter implemented in 40nm (nm) CMOS process technology provides a full-rate clock output at 32GHz and a half-rate clock output at 16GHz. Advanced features such as clock and data skew control adjust the lane-to-lane skew and the date-to-clock skew on the line-side interface.

The BCM84128 transmitter PHY is now sampling with volume production slated for Q2 2013.

Further information regarding the BCM84128 can be found here.