Colorado Springs, Colo. — Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. and Apogee Photonics Inc. are demonstrating a joint reference design in China this week for a 10-Gbit transceiver meeting extended industrial temperature ranges.
The design, on display at the optical show in Shenzhen, includes the XFP PRO circuit-board layout developed by Vitesse for 10-Gbit small-form-factor-pluggable (XFP) modules, and the Apogee 10T3081 transmit optical subassembly (Tosa) using the latter company's electroabsorption modulated laser.
Aaron Bond, vice president of marketing and business development at Apogee, said the tough external environments of many fiber-to-the-home networks, such as the outside plant used in passive optical network (PON) backhaul, demanded a reliable 10-Gbit transceiver that extended beyond commercial temperature ranges. Apogee already had a Tosa using an uncooled 1,310-nanometer electroabsorption laser based on the company's Asymmetric TwinGuide technology, and worked with Vitesse to integrate the laser with the Vitesse VSC7982 laser driver IC.
Matt Drew, product-marketing manager for physical-medium-dependent products at Vitesse, said that there was less push for an industrial-range reference design on the receive side, but that Vitesse is demonstrating use of its VSC8239 dual-signal conditioner and VSC7978 transimpedance amp, as part of a complete PON solution at 10 Gbits/second. The reference design was introduced at the China International Optoelectronic Exposition in Shenzhen, Drew said, because demand for industrial-range, cost-effective 10-Gbit transceivers has been particularly strong among Asian OEMs.
