Product category:
Optoelectronic Sensors, Switches and Receivers
News Release from: Zarlink Semiconductor | Subject: ZL60011
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 13 May 2003
Integrated receiver speeds optical
systems
Zarlink Semiconductor has unveiled the industry's highest-performance receiver for optical signals operating at up to 3.125Gbit/s.
Zarlink Semiconductor has unveiled the industry's highest-performance receiver for optical signals operating at up to 3.125Gbit/s Zarlink's ZL60011 device detects and amplifies high-bandwidth optical pulses with unmatched efficiency, which allows designers to reduce the cost, size, and complexity of optical equipment
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Traditionally, discrete photodiodes and amplifiers, linked by complex circuitry, have been required to reliably detect and pre-amplify high-speed optical pulses.
Zarlink's ZL60011 optical receiver saves designers time, money, and board space by integrating a highly sensitive PIN photodiode, a low-noise transimpedance and limiting amplifier, and a photocurrent monitor into one compact, off-the-shelf component.
The ZL60011 receiver delivers the best optical sensitivity rating - a key measure of efficiency for optical signal detection - in its class.
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Customers are now evaluating Zarlink's ZL60011 receiver for use in 2.5Gbit/s optical equipment for SDH STM-16 networks.
The ZL60011 is also targeted at optical equipment for 2.488Gbit/s Sonet OC-48 networks, and other high-speed networks, including Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet.
"Zarlink's new 3.125Gbit/s optical receiver delivers the performance edge that designers need in today's highly competitive optical market", said Bengt Ehrensparre, Product Line Manager, Optical Communications, Zarlink Semiconductor.
"The high sensitivity rating and integrated functionality of the device allows designers to improve system efficiency while lowering costs".
Zarlink's ZL60011 optical receiver integrates an InGaAs PIN photodiode, a SiGe transimpedance amplifier with an integrated limiting amplifier, and a photocurrent monitor.
The device detects optical signals transported over Fibre cable at speeds up to 3.125Gbit/s, amplifies them, and converts them to electronic signals, which are presented on a two-pin, differential output.
The photocurrent monitor tracks the status of the optical signal after its detection by the PIN photodiode, before it passes through the amplifiers.
This early-stage status indicator helps designers enhance system reliability by improving the response time of contingency circuits, such as restart loops, if incoming signals drop below detection thresholds.
The ZL60011 optical receiver supports multiple fibre cable types, including single-mode and multimode fibre with diameters of up to 62.5um.
The device complies fully with the OC-48 and STM-16 standards for synchronous optical networks defined by ANSI and ITU-T, respectively.
The ZL60011 is now in volume production.
It is offered in a five-pin standard TO-46 package.
Zarlink has also introduced the ZL60006, a cost-effective version of the receiver without the monitoring function, in a four-pin TO-46 package.
In 1000-off quantities, the ZL60011 is priced at US$30.00, the ZL60006 at US$25.00.
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