A practical application of high-speed semi-custom integrated circuits to fibre-optic transmission systems

Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are proposed as an essential requirement for future fiber-optic transmission systems. The line-rate analog and digital parts of the system are identified as an area where ASICs have not previously been applied. A semicustom approach using transistor arrays is chosen and the functional requirements and choice of technology are described. The design is partitioned into a number of ICs, which increases its versatility. Each of the semicustom parts is described in terms of its function and its applications within the transmission system. Simulated and measured performance results are compared. The set of ASIC parts presently considered has demonstrated the performance and flexibility needed to realize core functions of optical-fiber transmission systems of the early 1990s in an efficient way. They are applicable to both plesiochronous and synchronous digital hierarchies and can operate in systems up to 280 Mb/s