Modulator Driver Pushes 100 Gb/s

Model TGA4943-SL is a three-stage optical modulator driver from TriQuint Semiconductor that supports 40- and 100-Gb/s systems. With a single-ended input and output and low additive RMS jitter of only 40 fs, this driver features 32 dB gain at 20 GHz. It can transform a 0.4-V peak-to-peak input signal to an 8-V peak-to-peak output signal. It features rise and fall times of better than 12 ps and low power dissipation of 1.7 W at +6 VDC when producing an 8-V peak-to-peak output signal. The driver amplifier is supplied in a surface-mount-technology (SMT) package measuring 14.4 x 7 x 2 mm. According to TriQuint Vice President Brian P. Balut, "TriQuint surface-mount modulator drivers have proven themselves in the market. Since entering the modulator driver market we have shipped nearly 500,000 SMTs; our new 40G and 100G products are designed for the move to higher-speed networks."