Tyco enhances SFP product line/Mindspeed debuts 11.3G chipsets

APRIL 28, 2009 -- Tyco Electronics (search Lightwave for Tyco Electronics) offers a complete small-form-factor pluggable (SFP) product line, including single-port and higher density multiport SFP cages in single row and stacked configurations. Tyco Electronics has introduced new options, including integrated lightpipes for port indicators, connectors with improved signal integrity, enhanced EMI springs for increased EMI suppression, and riding heatsink technology for thermal management.


The pluggable I/O interface includes a standard equipment I/O interface; with the flexibility of pluggable modules and cabling come options of fiber and copper links. It also supports various data rates and protocols including Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand standards. As a result, the integrator can design the cabling structure based on the application needs.

To address market needs for greater density in high-speed pluggable devices, the quad small-form-factor pluggable (QSFP) interface was developed, providing a four-channel, 40-Gbps pluggable interface. As data rates reached 10 Gbps, Tyco Electronics played a role in developing the 10-Gigabit Serial (XFP) standard and the X2 MSA, the XAUI-based 10-Gigabit standards solution. Key proven technologies from XFP were adopted in this design.

Direct-attach cable assemblies are engineered with these pluggable interfaces. Copper cables are cost effective for short-reach applications and are available with passive and active equalization. Active optical PARALIGHT cables are available for QSFP, which eliminate the need for a transceiver/cable interface.

Components of a pluggable I/O interface include:

    a host board connector
    a cage or guide rail, which provides EMI containment and guidance for the mating plug
    a mating plug, which may be in the form of a pluggable transceiver or direct-attach cable assembly. A transceiver requires a mating cable assembly
    accessories include heatsinks, lightpipes, dust plugs, and EMI plugs


APRIL 29, 2009 -- Mindspeed Technologies Inc. (serach Lightwave for Mindspeed) has unveiled chipsets for 10-Gbps serial optical links.

Building on the company's expertise in GEPON and GPON and cultivated by three generations of 10 Gigabit products, Mindspeed's newest offering is designed to provide a complete serial link approach for applications to 11.3 Gbps.

Said Hasnain Bajwa, Mindspeed's senior vice president and general manager, lightspeed connectivity solutions, "Our new chipset includes the world's first dual-rate 1-Gbp and 10-Gbps transimpedance amplifiers, post amplifiers with internal digital controls, and laser drivers with optical modulation amplitude control."

Mindspeed's new 11.3-Gbps product offering includes a high sensitivity multi-rate limiting transimpedance amplifier (TIA), a linear TIA with low total harmonic distortion (THD), linear and limiting post-amplifiers with digital controls, directly modulated laser (DML) and vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) drivers with optical modulation amplitude (OMA) control, and an electro-absorption (EA) modulator driver.

The M02129 TIA supports dual data rates of 1.25 Gbps and 10.3 Gbps, which Mindspeed asserts makes it the industy's first rate-selectable TIA for 1-Gbps/10-Gbps Ethernet. Featuring -21-dBm OMA sensitivity at 1.25 Gbps and -17.5-dbm OMA sensitivity at 10.3 Gbps, the M02129 is suitable for systems requiring backward compatibility.

The M02130 linear TIA is intended for use in equalized systems where low-distortion is required. Featuring less than 4% THD over the range of -17 to +1 dbm OMA, the M02130 passes the stress tests imposed by the 802.3 10GBase-LRM standard.

The 11.3-Gbps post amplifier (M02142) and linear amplifier (M02143) are among the industry's first post amplifiers to have internal digital controls, Mindspeed says. The M02142 features 5-mV input sensitivity with loss-of-signal (LOS) circuitry capable of supporting out-of-band (OOB) signaling. Programmable LOS and output de-emphasis can be accessed via the 2-wire interface, while an analog-only mode may be used in more traditional applications that only require the chip's small size, low power, and sensitivity.

The M02143 is a differential gain amplifier for linear systems with 3.3-mV sensitivity at 11.3 Gbps and a maximum 4% THD. The post amplifiers are available in an industry-standard 3x3-mm quad flat no-lead (QFN) package.

The M02170 DML driver provides up to 85 mA of modulation current and 150 mA of bias current, while the M02171 VCSEL driver provides up to 15 mA of modulation and 15 mA of bias current for VCSEL applications. The M02172 EA modulator driver delivers up to 2.5 Vp-p into a 50-ohm modulator with 0-1 V offset control and up to 150 mA of bias current. All drivers include circuitry to facilitate extensive monitoring and control and are available in an industry-standard 5x5-mm QFN package.

When combined with the M02129 TIA and M02142 post amplifier, the M02170 laser driver and M02171 VCSEL driver provide a total approach capable of supporting the <1-W transceiver power demanded for SFP+ applications, the vendor concludes.