SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 -- Inphi Corp. and Sierra Monolithics (SMI) have announced the first successful interoperability demonstration of a 40G modulator driver and multiplexer/clock multiplier unit (MUX/CMU) in surface-mount technology (SMT).
The companies’ 40G modulator driver and MUX/CMU in SMT are designed to enable lower-cost, smaller-form-factor 40G transponders.
“The significance of this announcement is that it demonstrates the viability of surface-mount technology for next-generation 40G networks,” said Loi Nguyen, vice president of broadband analog products for Inphi. “Inphi is driving the ecosystem to transition from metal packages with microwave connectors to SMT solutions that achieve good signal integrity at very high speeds. Inphi’s differential modulator driver for 40G, the 2811DZ, allows board designers to utilize full differential signaling between components to realize the best signal integrity and the lowest amount of crosstalk.”
“Our next-generation 40G Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK) SerDes chipset, the SMI4029 and SMI4039, consumes approximately one-half the power of SMI’s previous-generation SerDes and is available for the first time in surface-mount ball-grid array (BGA) packages,” said Craig Hornbuckle, vice president of systems engineering at Sierra Monolithics. “This demonstration paves the way for a rapid commercial development of 40G DQPSK systems based on lower-cost, smaller-form-factor SMT components.”
Inphi’s 2811DZ modulator driver is available for sampling immediately and is expected to be available in production quantities in Q4 2009. Sierra Monolithics’ 40G DQPSK SerDes chipset (SMI4029 and SMI4039) is available for sampling now, with production quantities expected in Q4 2009.