Apogee Photonics and Vitesse extend 10-Gbit/sec transceiver performance to industrial temperature range
September 7, 2005 Allentown, PA, and Camarillo, CA -- Apogee Photonics and Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. have announced a joint reference design that extends 10-Gbit/sec transceiver performance to an industrial temperature range. According to the companies, the new reference design allows customers to deploy high-speed optical links in the most demanding environmental conditions, including the outside plant associated with PON backhaul applications, while maintaining exceptional XFP transceiver SONET eye mask margins of 20% average over case temperatures ranging from minus 40 ° C to +85 ° C.
The joint Vitesse and Apogee Photonics reference design offers transceiver manufacturers reduced product development costs and significantly higher scalability and throughput in manufacturing due to simplicity of calibration over the temperature range, say representatives from both companies.
Since the initial deployment of 10-Gbit/sec optical modules, industry demand for higher module performance over industrial temperature ranges is rapidly growing. At elevated temperatures, directly modulated laser (DML) technology has proven asymmetrical performance resulting in reduced eye mask margin and degradation in overall link budget even with increased signal amplitude. Module manufacturers now look to Electroabsorption-Modulated-Laser (EML) technology to provide the stable and symmetric performance they require based on the robust temperature insensitivity of EML bandwidth.
"We are pleased with the performance of the combination of the Apogee EML and Vitesse driver IC under extreme temperature conditions," reports Dr. Rang-Chen Yu, viceIpresident of Datacom/Telecom PLG at Fiberxon, supplier of opto-electronic components, modules, and subsystems for communication networks. "Our system OEM customers are increasingly deploying high-speed optical broadband solutions closer to customer premises and require environmentally hardened high-speed optical transmission performance. Our i-temp 10G XFP transceiver product is an excellent fit to meet their demanding requirements," he adds.
The joint reference design solution includes Vitesse's XFPIPRO PCB layout with its VSC7982 Driver IC and the Apogee Photonics' 10T3081 EML TOSA. The VSC7982 supports case temperatures up to 100 ° C and the 10T3081 up to 95 ° C TOSA case temperature. Industrial XFP solutions using the above combination, together with the Vitesse VSC8239 dual signal conditioner and VSC7978 transimpedance amplifier IC, achieve less than 2.5-W total power consumption, lower than comparable DML solutions, say Vitesse representatives.
The Apogee Photonics 10T3081 EML is built using the company's patented Asymmetric TwinGuide (ATG) technology, a scalable platform for monolithic photonic integration, enabling uncooled EML manufacturing with high chip and TOSA yields and lower cost than competing uncooled DML platforms. The Apogee Photonics 1310-nm EML platform also provides what the company claims is industry-leading reliability in an uncooled 10-Gbit/sec laser source.
"The Vitesse XFP PRO chipset was designed and characterized to support the natural progression to industrial temperature range operation," explains Richard Interrante, manager of applications engineering for the Networks Products Division at Vitesse. "By working closely with Apogee Photonics, we have been able to offer customers a solution that meets the rising performance demands of extended temperature, 10-km modules."
"Customer demand for industrial temperature range products is growing and is a logical next step in our product roadmap," adds Aaron Bond, vice president of marketing and business development at Apogee Photonics. "With the new reference design, customers can now upgrade their modules to support industrial temperatures, without altering existing designs based on the Vitesse chipset and Apogee Photonics uncooled 1310-nm EML."
The Vitesse VSC7982 XFP PRO driver is in production and available now, along with an evaluation board and the reference design with the Apogee Photonics' 10T3081ITOSA. The Apogee Photonics 10T3081 TOSA with LC-receptacle is sampling now and will be generally available in commercial quantities in the fourth quarter of 2005. Apogee Photonics is offering the TOSA in a Telcordia-qualified, low-cost TO-41-based package that will also be available in a RoHS-compliant option.