GigOptix ships 14G VCSEL driver and receiver amplifier arrays

GigOptix, Inc. (OTCQX:GGOX) says it has started high-volume production of 14G VCSEL drivers and receiver amplifier arrays for short-reach parallel optical interconnects. The firm says the products are now shipping to Tier 1 customers making active optical cables (AOCs) for the datacom, avionics, and consumer markets.

The 14-Gbps per channel chipsets come in 4- and 12-channel versions to address the market for next-generation InfiniBand Fast Data Rate (FDR) active optical cables operating at aggregate data rates up to 168 Gbps as well as 40-Gigabit Ethernet and 100-Gigabit Ethernet transceivers.

GigOptix’s chipset comprises a four-channel HXT5104 VCSEL driver and HXR5104 receiver amplifier chip set and a 12-channel HXT5112 VCSEL driver and HXR5112 receiver amplifier chip set. These chipsets are designed to enable power consumption of less than 450 mW for a 40G link over 100 m, and reduce costs by minimizing the number of components required to make a transceiver, the company claims.

The HXT/R5 family incorporates programmable equalization and pre-emphasis circuitry to maintain signal integrity over various trace lengths. It also provides fully programmable control via integrated analog to digital convertors and digital to analog convertors, over an industry-standard 2-wire interface.

"This year has brought exciting progress of our parallel optics line," said Dr. Raluca Dinu, general manager and vice president of the optics product line at GigOptix. "After successful design wins into major Tier 1 customers, we have finally gone into full production with the HXT/R51 series chipset. The requirements from our customers for reliable, high-performance, low-power, and cost-effective solutions have been fulfilled by our unique chip set solution that addresses current and future datacom short reach needs."

Analyst firm LightCounting forecasts that shipments of active optical cables will increase from 250,000 units in 2012 to 400,000 units in 2014.

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