New transimpedance amplifiers from Inphi Corp. feature 100-mW power dissipation

April 7, 2003

7 April 2003 Westlake Village, CA Lightwave--Inphi Corp. today announced two new transimpedance/limiting amplifiers (TIA/LIAs) designed for a range of applications, including 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), SONET/SDH optical receiver modules, and broadband instrumentation. According to the company, the new devices are the first to feature power dissipation as low as 100 mW.

7 April 2003 Westlake Village, CA Lightwave--Inphi Corp. today announced two new transimpedance/limiting amplifiers (TIA/LIAs), the 1342TL and 1343TL, for a range of applications, including 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), SONET/SDH optical receiver modules, and broadband instrumentation. According to the company, the new devices are the first to feature power dissipation as low as 100 mW, reducing bill of materials and manufacturing costs while meeting strict multisource agreement power budgets. Receiver module manufacturers previously relied on a separate LIA to amplify signals from a TIA, which consumed as much as 490 mW of power.

"The fact that Inphi has achieved power dissipation as low as 100 mW with their new TIAs represents a significant milestone in communications technology," contends Dr. Nobuo Shiga, general manager of the Electron Device Department at Sumitomo Electric Industries in Yokohama, Japan. "This development is an important step toward enabling module manufacturers to meet the stringent power requirements for SFP transceivers."

"We asked the top five optical manufacturers what would significantly change the playing field for TIAs, and they cited lower power consumption as their primary requirement," explains Ashok Dhawan, president and chief executive officer of Inphi. "At 100 mW for an integrated TIA/LIA with more than 23 decibels of dynamic range, Inphi has more than hit the mark. The high gain, wide dynamic range, and improved sensitivity of the new Inphi TIA/LIAs, together with their low power consumption and cost, will deliver SONET performance at Ethernet cost to all network reaches," he adds.

The 1342TL and 1343TL support data rates up to 10.7 Gbits/sec and consume 140 mW and 100 mW of power, respectively. Both devices exhibit high gain, excellent input sensitivity, and low input noise to maximize receiver quality, say company representatives. The 1342TL includes DC slice level adjust and receive signal strength indicator (RSSI) to simplify fiber alignment during package assembly. The 1342TL also features a highly symmetric output eye and yields a bit error rate of 10^-12 after 80 km of singlemode fiber--even with no dispersion compensation included in the link.

The 1342TL and 1343TL are available for immediate purchase in die form in sample quantities. Volume production is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2003.