SiGe brings speed and frugality to serdes design

Cypress Semiconductor is sampling its OC-48/STM-16 Sonet/SDH serdes, the first device fabricated using its internally developed silicon germanium (SiGe) process.

Cypress Semiconductor is sampling its OC-48/STM-16 Sonet/SDH serdes, the first device fabricated using its internally developed silicon germanium (SiGe) process.

The CYS25G0102DX integrates serialiser, deserialiser, clock and data recovery, clock synthesis, and a limiting amplifier into a single chip, allowing one device to take the place of two or more devices in many existing designs.

This device consumes less than half the power (0.6W) and occupies less than half the board space (11 x 11mm) of competing 16bit solutions.

The CYS25G0102DX provides full Bellcore and ITU compliance, multiple loop-back and loop-through modes, and a flexible 16bit interface.

These features, coupled with low power and a small package, simplify system design.

Design activity at 2.5Gbit/s continues to be robust as market conditions in the data and telecommunications industry are extending the sweet spot for OC-48/STM-16 systems.

Enterprises and service providers seeking to maximise existing OC-48/STM-16 infrastructure are increasingly looking to efficiently transport Gigabit Ethernet and storage protocols over OC-48/STM-16 rings.

Cypress's OC-48/STM-16 serdes seamlessly interfaces to Cypress's POSIC2GVC virtual concatenation framer making transmission of multiple protocols over Sonet/SDH seamless.

The CYS25G0102DX is also ideal for DWDM systems where low power is essential due to high port density.

"By moving into Cypress's world-class SiGe process, we were able to build the best OC-48 serdes available anywhere, bar none", said Jack Berg, Cypress's Datacom Managing Director.

"Cypress's first-generation 0.21-micron BiCMOS silicon germanium process supports cutoff frequencies higher than 110GHz, easily bringing 40Gbit/s designs within our grasp.

For 10 and 2.5Gbit/s designs, we have the flexibility to choose in-house SiGe when the process gives us a performance or time to market advantage".

"Developing in-house SiGe capability is an important milestone in maintaining state-of-the-art capabilities as a designer and manufacturer of high-end communications semiconductors", said Christopher Seams, Cypress's Executive Vice President of Technology Development and Manufacturing.

"In addition to our full line of communication devices, our SiGe process will allow us to extend our leadership in high-frequency timing and radio frequency products".

Production samples of CYS25G0102DX are available now in a 120-pin TQFP.

A 100-ball BGA version will be available in Q4.

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