Quake Launches 10G PHY Chip

OTTAWA and SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Quake Technologies, Inc., the leading supplier of 10Gb/s physical layer ICs, today announced the availability of the QT2022, its third-generation, integrated 10G serial-to-XAUI PHY device. This high-performance device not only benefits from the extensive field-proven experience of the previous generations of Quake’s products, but with an industry-leading power consumption of less than 900mW, it optimizes next-generation modules and system cards.

10 Gb/s Ethernet and Fibre Channel are rapidly gaining popularity. The 10 Gb/s ports in switches and servers are undergoing changes to reduce the system cost, accommodate more ports per line card and include more functionality per port. Each component on the system card is scrutinized for power and performance. 10 Gb/s PHYs are migrating from XENPAK/XPAK/X2 modules onto the system cards and mezzanine modules. This introduces a new set of functional requirements for the components.

The 10 Gb/s module requirements are also changing. As 10 Gb/s data transmission faces new challenges, the modules need to include additional functionality, such as the Electronic Dispersion Compensation (EDC) circuitry. As a result, more physical layer circuitry needs to fit into the same area for the same power budget.

“Our first- and second-generation SerDes are ideal for current modules and system cards,” said Daniel Trépanier, president and CEO of Quake Technologies. “The new QT2022 is addressing the next-generation applications that need the combination of low power, small footprint and low jitter. This product is designed to respond to our customers’ future needs, and is an indication of Quake’s ongoing new product development initiative.”

Extensive feature set for less than 900mW of power

The QT2022 is a bi-directional 10 Gb/s serial-to-XAUI physical layer device (PHY). It performs the full physical layer processing for 10 Gb/s Ethernet and Fibre Channel and integrates the PMA, PCS and XGXS layers onto a single chip. The QT2022 converts four 3.125 Gb/s XAUI lanes into a serial 10.3-10.57 Gb/s data stream. The serial interface is compliant with the XFI requirements and can be connected to an electro-optical interface or an XFP module. For communication, the QT2022 includes a standard MDIO/MDC and a 2-wire interface together with a Non-Volatile Register set (NVR). The QT2022 is fully compliant with IEEE802.3ae-2003 10GE and INCITS/T11 10GFC standards, XENPAK/XPAK/X2 and XFP Multi Source Agreements (MSA).

The QT2022 utilizes proprietary design techniques to achieve industry-leading jitter performance. With less than 0.7ps of rms jitter generation, the QT2022 exceeds the standards requirement and allows ample margin for other components in the system.

The 10 Gb/s serial receiver includes an integrated post amplifier with a high sensitivity of 10 mVpp per side. The built-in receive equalizer successfully recovers data over as much as 12” of standard FR4 printed circuit board, and provides a cost effective solution for the migration of 10 Gb/s serial lines into system cards. The output amplitude of both the XAUI and the serial interfaces can be adjusted for optimal power and performance.

As with all Quake Technologies devices, the QT2022 includes a full suite of built-in test features, including jitter pattern and PRBS generators and checkers. These test features help speed up the development of modules and systems using the QT2022, and also alleviate bottlenecks in high-volume production testing by removing the need for expensive test equipment.

To simplify the system card, the QT2022 includes a JTAG interface.

Interoperability between the QT2022 and the XFP modules from a variety of XFP vendors has been verified using the Quake Technologies QT2022/XFP reference board.

The QT2022 requires a single 1.2V supply, is manufactured in CMOS technology, and is packaged in a compact 12x12 mm2 PBGA with 1mm ball pitch.

Quake Technologies Inc.