Energy-Efficient 1060-nm Optical Link Operating up to 28 Gb/s

Author

Heroux, Jean Benoit ; Kise, Tomufumi ; Funabashi, Masaki ; Aoki, Toyohiro ; Schow, Clint L. ; Rylyakov, Alexander V. ; Nakagawa, Shigeru

Author_Institution

IBM Res., Kawasaki, Japan

Volume

33

Issue

4

fYear

2015

fDate

Feb.15, 15 2015

Firstpage

733

Lastpage

740

Abstract

An analysis of a 1060-nm VCSEL with a threshold voltage as low as 1.25 V and 3 dB frequency above 19 GHz in the 2.5 to 5 mA bias current range is presented. An optical link based on a custom-made 90-nm CMOS driver, low power VCSEL and 32-μm diameter photodiode is built and characterized. A 5.2 dB link margin is obtained with a 0.99 mW optical modulation amplitude and an 8.2 dB extinction ratio at 28 Gb/s. A 1.1 pJ/b transmitter power consumption is measured at 26 Gb/s. The platform that we use in the present study would be compatible with a wavelength division multiplexing scheme to reach high aggregate bitrate and channel density with low voltage, power and heat dissipation in a future optical module. Results clearly demonstrate the potential of VCSEL-based links to meet the requirements of next-generation exascale computers and data center systems.

Keywords

CMOS analogue integrated circuits; laser cavity resonators; optical links; optical modulation; optical transmitters; photodiodes; surface emitting lasers; wavelength division multiplexing; bias current range; bit rate 26 Gbit/s to 28 Gbit/s; current 2.5 mA to 5 mA; custom-made CMOS driver; energy-efficient optical link; extinction ratio; heat dissipation; low power VCSEL; optical modulation amplitude; photodiode; power 0.99 mW; power consumption; size 90 nm to 32 mum; threshold voltage; transmitter; voltage 1.25 V; wavelength 1060 nm; wavelength division multiplexing scheme; Optical fiber communication; Optical transmitters; Optical waveguides; Photodiodes; Temperature; Temperature measurement; Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers; CMOS analog-integrated circuit; Optical interconnect; optical interconnect; optical link; optical transmitter; photodiode; vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL);

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JLT.2015.2393888

Filename

7014373