Efficient Optical Communications Using Multi-Bit Differential Signaling

摘要

We present an alternative signaling method for multi-channel fiber ribbon based optical links. The method is based on a hybrid of differential signaling and single-ended channels. Channels are grouped into code blocks of n-bits. Each code word transmitted in the block is restricted to conform to an n choose m rule. Electrical drivers steer current between m active VCSELS with no dummy loads. A virtual reference is synthesized from the received signals and used for differential discrimination. This signaling method approaches the signal-to-noise characteristics of fully differential signaling but can be implemented with significantly lower channel overhead, giving as much as a 33% reduction in fiber count and a 44% reduction in power. Further, code utilization rates on these links can be as low as 51%, leaving substantial code space available for ECC or channel management functions. In this paper, we describe the signaling method and present a prototype transceiver chip. The transceiver is implemented in 0.25um UTSi Silicon-on-Sapphire technology with flip-chip bonded VCSEL and photodetector arrays. The design demonstrates a pin-compatible alternative to the POP4-MSA transceiver standard with 125% greater data throughput and 25% better power efficiency.