Communications system on a chip (SoC) developer ClariPhy Communications, Inc. has announced availability of a reference design for 200 Gbps coherent optical transmission based on 16-QAM. The reference design was developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners Fujitsu Optical Components, Inphi, NeoPhotonics, and u2t Photonics.
ClariPhy says its next-generation 28-nm CMOS Lightspeed coherent SoC will support both 100G and 200G data rates. The company says it is working with its ecosystem partners to optimize performance of the optical reference design when coupled with this SoC, which could point the way to two-carrier 400G coherent transmission designs as well as 200G.
Components of the optical reference design include:
- Fujitsu Optical Components' FTM7977HQA lithium niobate modulator
- Inphi's IN3214SZ quad linear modulator driver
- two NeoPhotonics ITLA3100 integrated tunable laser assemblies (ITLAs), one for the transmitter and one for the local oscillator
- u2t Photonics' CPRV1222A integrated coherent receiver (ICR).
Clarify asserts these components meet the bandwidth, linearity, and phase noise needed to support 200G 16-QAM modulation. A GPPO interface provides connectivity to a separate coherent electrical transmitter and receiver, such as ClariPhy's 28-nm digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) evaluation board, which is currently shipping to OEMs. ClariPhy says its ADC and DAC deliver the ENOB, bandwidth, and jitter performance necessary for 100G QPSK and 200G 16-QAM modulation, two modulation formats that its next-generation Lightspeed SoC will support as well. The reference design will offer programmable parameters for optimum transmission performance, the company adds.
"We are pleased to partner with ecosystem partners such as Fujitsu Optical Components, Inphi, NeoPhotonics, and u2t Photonics, who can deliver world class component technology for 100G and 200G optical coherent transmission," said Dr. Norm Swenson, chief technology officer of ClariPhy. "We look forward to working with them to deliver the first 200G coherent solution based on merchant silicon."
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