Zarlink demonstrates new 10 Gbit/s large aperture VCSEL
"This success may result in a highly reliable, large-aperture 10 Gb/s VCSEL that transmits farther than the industry-standard 300 meters, at data rates extending beyond 10 Gbit/s," said Jitesh Vadhia, VP and general manager of the Optical Systems division.
In an optical transmitter-receiver link, factors such as noise, attenuation, dispersion and jitter combine to degrade the quality of the light signal as it travels along the fiber. This degradation, called the power penalty, is measured in optical decibels. For 10 Gigabit Ethernet over 300 m, the IEEE 802.3ae standard specifies that the power penalty may not exceed 4.7 dB. Zarlink says its design betters this power penalty requirement, and is more reliable and offers longer device life because they operate with lower current density than small-aperture VCSELs. However, large-aperture VCSELs also produce several unwanted higher-order modes that degrade signal integrity, which the company has addressed with a patented technology. The approach taken is to eliminate these frequencies by deliberately introducing losses for the higher-order lateral modes.
Zarlink s large-aperture VCSEL provides a 4.2 dB margin in the optical link, resulting in potentially better link performance, longer reach and lower cost and increased link reliability.
Michael Salter
Tel: +1 613 270 7115
E-mail: michael.salter@zarlink.com
Web site: http://www.zarlink.com
