Microchip’s compact, low-power 1.6-terabit PHY

Microchip Technology’s latest physical layer (PHY) chip has been developed for next-generation line cards.

The PM6200 Meta-DX2L (the ‘L’ is for light) 1.6-terabit chip is implemented using TSMC's 6nm CMOS process. It is Microchip’s first PHY to use 112-gigabit PAM-4 (4-level pulse-amplitude modulation) serialiser/ deserialisers (serdes) interfaces.

Stephen Docking

Microchip’s existing 16nm CMOS Meta-DX1 PHY devices are rated at 1.2 terabits and use 56-gigabit PAM-4 serdes.

System vendors developing line cards that double the capacity of their switch, router or transport systems are being challenged by space and power constraints, says Microchip. To this aim, the company has streamlined the Meta-DX2L to create a compact, lower-power chip.

“One of the things we have focussed on is the overall footprint of our [IC] design to ensure that people can realise their cards as they go to the 112-gigabit PAM-4 generation,” says Stephen Docking, manager, product marketing, communications business unit at Microchip.

The company says the resulting package measures 23x30mm and reduces the power per port by 35 per cent compared to the Meta-DX1.

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Altera unveils its optical FPGA prototype

Altera has been showcasing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip with optical interfaces. The 'optical FPGA' prototype makes use of parallel optical interfaces from Avago Technologies.

Combining the FPGA with optics extends the reach of the chip's transceivers to up to 100m. Such a device, once commercially available, will be used to connect high-speed electronics on a line card without requiring exotic printed circuit board (PCB) materials. An optical FPGA will also be used to link equipment such as Ethernet switches in the data centre.

"It is solving a problem the industry is going to face," says Craig Davis, product marketing manager at Altera. "As you go to faster bit-rate transceivers, the losses on the PCB become huge."

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