ViaSat Does 100G FEC

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT) is introducing a family of forward error correction (FEC) products for 100G optical transport at the OFC/NFOEC Exhibition beginning March 23 in San Diego. These FEC and digital signal processing (DSP) products, available in either FPGA or ASIC cores, can provide major cost savings over optical compensation techniques, increase optical channel capacity, and extend the range of transmission for optical cables.

As data rates increase to 100 Gbps, optical channels require a higher optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). FEC provides additional gain that helps mitigate the effects of optical channel noise.

Additionally, fiber channels suffer from optical effects, such as chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), and self-phase modulation (SPM) that degrade signal quality and integrity. Digital signal processing techniques electronically compensate for these types of channel impairments.

ViaSat soft and hard decision Enhanced FECs (EFEC) exceed the performance requirements defined by the ITU-T G.709 and G.975 submarine standards for ultra-long haul (ULH) links. ECC66100 FECs increase the effective OSNR to near the fundamental limits. The products are derived from over two decades of experience in FEC and DSP engineering for the complex channel impairments encountered in satellite and terrestrial wireless communication systems.

"Optical engineers are coming to us for our expertise in FEC and DSP design to combat channel impairments, which are similar, but actually less complex than what we encounter with satellite and other wireless channels," said Russell Fuerst, VP and general manager for IP and ASICs at ViaSat. "Our customers further benefit from our ability to customize our FEC and DSP cores to match their specific system requirements."

ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq: VSAT)