11.3 Gbps CMOS SONET Compliant Transceiver for Both RZ and NRZ Applications

In this paper, an 11.3 Gbps CMOS SONET compliant transceiver designed to work in both RZ and NRZ data formats is presented. Using a configurable high-speed transmit path utilizing an AND gate and a duty cycle adjustment circuit, the transmitter can switch output format between RZ and NRZ. The TX driver exhibits 17 ps rise/fall times, 0.25 ps_rms RJ, and 2 ps_pp DJ. In RZ mode, TX output duty cycle can be adjusted within 40-60% range. To improve input sensitivity in both RZ and NRZ reception, the receiver incorporates a limiting amplifier with a distributed threshold adjustment circuit. It achieves 5 mVpp-diff RX input sensitivity with 0.54 UI high-frequency jitter tolerance. An adaptation scheme based on nested linear search is implemented to control the distributed threshold adjustment circuit. While demonstrating the integration of RZ/NRZ functionality into a single-chip solution using 65 nm CMOS technology, the transceiver core occupies 1.36 mm² and consumes 214 mW.