Quake Intros SFP+ PHY

OTTAWA and SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Quake Technologies, Inc., the leading supplier of 10 Gigabit physical layer ICs, today announced the availability of the QT2035S, the industry's first integrated physical layer IC for all SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GE) applications. The advanced signal processing technology in the Quake chip will reduce the cost of 10G optics to less than a quarter the price of today's solutions.

The rapid growth of data-intensive applications and the broad adoption of Gigabit Ethernet have led to a greater demand for 10GE switch ports, uplinks and server connections. Despite the demand, 10GE still carries a significant price premium over Gigabit Ethernet. SFP+ pluggable optical modules are increasingly recognized as a technology necessary to bring the cost of 10GE more in line with that of Gigabit Ethernet.

"Today, the wholesale cost for a typical XFP module for short-reach 10G Ethernet is approximately $350. Using Quake's new QT2035S and SFP+ technology, the cost of a module for this same reach can be reduced to below $100," said Mitch Kahn, Quake's vice president of marketing. "At this new price point, 10G Ethernet becomes very compelling for a range of high-volume applications."

By reducing silicon in the optical modules to a minimum and through economies of scale between FibreChannel and Ethernet production volumes, the cost of SFP+ modules is significantly lower than larger form factors.

In order to facilitate the shift to SFP+, Quake has overcome the significant technological challenges associated with signal integrity at 10Gbps. These challenges require advanced signal-processing capabilities and Quake's QT2035S is the first silicon device to integrate a standard XAUI- interface 10G Ethernet PHY, with complete SFP+ signal processing support.

"The signal processing problem for SFP+ presents a significant challenge," said Stan Blakey, Quake's director of product architecture. "For SFP+, the PHY must provide equalization not only for various grades of installed-base fiber, but also for circuit board impairments. The programmable Electronic Dispersion Compensation engine in our QT2035S device is the first solution to provide the performance headroom required in SFP+ applications."

Quake Technologies Inc.