Qorvo ups production of optical drivers for data center 100G transceivers

Communications semiconductor supplier Qorvo says that it has ramped production of its TGA4840-SM single-channel and TGA4851-SL quad-channel modulator drivers for 100-Gbps data center optical transceivers. The latter device also has received attention for early 400 Gigabit Ethernet designs, says a company source.

The TGA4840-SM and the TGA4851-SL SMT drivers feature low power consumption (<125 mW per channel), high gain, high channel-to-channel isolation, low total harmonic distortion (THD), and “excellent” extinction ratio (ER) and eye-mask compliance, the company asserts. They feature adjustable output amplitude of 1.5-3 Vpp as well as jitter figures of less than 600 fs. These attributes have led the devices to find favor in CFP2, CFP4, and QSFP28 pluggable optical modules, Qorvo says. Demand for 100G data center products has increased 10X so far this year against 2015 levels, according to Gorden Cook, Qorvo’s general manager for transport products.

The drivers also have been validated for use alongside PAM4 silicon. According to Mike Tessaro, director of Qorvo’s optical products portfolio, the TGA4851-SL in particular has attracted attention for PAM4-related applications, including early CFP8 optical module designs for 400 Gigabit Ethernet as well as for other applications focused on data center interconnect. Tessaro said that PAM4 applications require both high linearity and low power consumption. He hinted that the company has additional products for PAM4 applications in the pipeline.

Source: http://www.qorvo.com