Optical chip and module manufacturers, Oki Semiconductor, Mitsubishi Electric, Opnext, Sumitomo Electric and Renesas Electronics, have announced a Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) in order to meet the increasing demand for the pluggable 40 Gbps transceiver modules series in data, IP communication and telecommunication applications.
The MSA for the receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) and the transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) will help achieve compact pluggable modules designed to consume low power, providing advanced transceiver serial solution to storage systems and high capacity networks.
The member companies will set the guidelines for the mechanical dimensions, pin functions, performance and footprint of the optical receiver and transmitter devices. The ROSA/TOSA MSA details the compact fit and low-profile features of the devices and defines the laser transmitter devices and the PIN Photodiode-Trans-impedance amplifier (PIN-TIA) receiver devices that comply with the interface standards of the 40 Gbps modules.
IEEE has detailed a serial interface for a transmission of over 2 km for the 40 Gbps module, in addition to the VSR2000-3R2 standard for 2 km and the P1I1-3D1 standard for 10km.
The 40 Gbps modules feature high modulation speed with serial transmission scheme or an easy-to-use on/off light keying. For the 2 km applications, the 300-pin MSA transceivers that use light sources of 1550 nm are easily available. In a recent demonstration, the 40 Gbps serial transmitter was used with light source devices of 1310 nm over a 10 km range application. Compact, low-profile ROSAs and TOSAs will help in downsizing pluggable transceiver modules.
Through the Multi-Source Agreement, the member companies will establish the pin assignment and functions, optical and electrical characteristics and mechanical dimensions of common optical devices compatible with the modules. The specifications will be released within a span of one year.