Centellax unveils quad-input 32-Gbaud linear modulator driver amplifier for DP-16QAM

Centellax has released the OA3MMQM, a low-cost lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) quad-input 32-Gbaud linear modulator driver amplifier for dual-polarization 16-QAM (DP-16QAM) applications.

The OA3MMQM has excellent gain, low noise figure, low harmonic distortion, and flat group delay, the company claims, which it says makes the device ideally suited for applications using advanced modulation formats at 32 Gbaud and beyond, including Mach Zender interferometer optical modulators.

The linear modulator driver amplifier is designed to address the needs of 400-Gbps optical long-haul transponder module manufacturers. These requirements include the ability to drive 400G of data on an existing ITU long-haul WDM fiber channel, implemented with four channels of 32-giga-symbols/s data encoded using DP-16QAM modulation schemes.

The 16QAM signal is composed by modulating both I and Q polarizations using a four-level pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) scheme. Because the output is not saturated but linear, there can be crosstalk issues. Centellax say the OA3MMQM mitigates this problem using a special package design that electrically isolates each channel.

“As the market moves to higher speeds we will continue to be on the forefront of the next generation of coherent technology. Our OA3MMQM quad linear module for 400G QAM applications will help our customers move towards advanced modulation formats at 32 Gbaud and beyond,” said Jay de la Barre, Centellax vice-president of worldwide sales.

Features of the OA3MMQM include quad 5-Vpp linear outputs, <0.6-ps added RMS jitter, 20-dB gain, 11-ps rise/fall time, 7.4-W power dissipation, low harmonic distortion. and flat group delay. The device comes in a small hermetic package with GPPO connectors.

The linear driver will also support DQPSK and DP-QPSK, in addition to DP-16QAM.

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