Broadcom Announces World's First CMOS 40G Serial Mux/Demux Chipset

LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- OFC/NFOEC Technical Conference 2012 --

News Highlights:

• Enables new tri-rate optical module market segment: 40GbE, OC-768, and OTU-3
• Industry's lowest power consumption – mux and demux consume only two watts combined – 60% lower than nearest competitor
• Industry's first 40G serial mux/demux chipset to use standard BGA packages

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications today introduced two new chipsets in its expanding line of 40 gigabit products. The two serial multiplex/demultiplex (mux/demux) chipsets are the world's first 40G CMOS-based solutions that enable tri-rate CFP (C-form pluggable) modules and VSR/DPSK applications (very short reach/differential phase shift keying).  Both of the mux/demux chipsets take advantage of 40nm process nodes and are engineered to achieve best-in-class performance. They also deliver the industry's lowest power consumption – only two watts combined and 60 percent lower than the nearest competitor.(1)  See Broadcom's complete portfolio of solutions for optical fiber communications at OFC/NFOEC booth # CV-1557.

As demand increases for broadband consumer applications such as streaming video, and on-demand services, so does the need for advanced 40G chipsets. Further propelling 40G growth is the industry's increasing use of wave division multiplexing (WDM) and Sonet/SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) solutions.(2)  Broadcom's newest 40G chipsets are engineered to meet the demand for higher bandwidth and designed to handle a wider range of applications while reducing power consumption up to 60 percent less than the nearest competitor.

The Broadcom BCM84145 demux and BCM84146 mux chipset work together to receive and transmit data within 40G serial CFP modules.  The BCM84147 demux and BCM84148 mux also receive and transmit 40G serial data and are targeted for VSR and DPSK applications.  Both chipsets offer high-speed data rate support ranging from 39.8 to 44.6 Gbps.  They are also available in standard 14mm x 14mm BGA (ball grid array) packages. Competing solutions require the use of ceramic packages and GPPO interfaces for high speed 40G I/Os.  The use of standard BGA packaging results in a substantial decrease to the total system cost.

Key Features:

BCM84145 Demux

• Receives 40G serial data (40GbE, OC-768, or OTU-3), demultiplexes and transmits on a 4-lane system interface
• PRBS/OTU-3 frame pattern generation and detection

BCM84146 Mux

• Receives data on 4-lane system interface, multiplexes data into one transmit serial stream
• Programmable pre-emphasis and amplitude control on serial data output
• DPSK/duo-binary pre-recorders

BCM84147 Demux

• Enables replacement of older bipolar-based demux used in legacy VSR and 300-pin module market with advanced CMOS-based devices
• Equalizer for ISI compensation
• OIF compliant SFI-5.1 interface

BCM84148 Mux

• Enables replacement of older bipolar-based mux used in legacy VSR and 300-pin module market with advanced CMOS-based devices
• Programmable pre-emphasis and amplitude on serial data output
• DPSK/duo-binary pre-recorders

All chips are now sampling with production volume slated for the first half of 2012.

Market Drivers:

• 40G growth fueled by growing traffic demands and next-generation components(2)
• 40G demand is strong in routers and metro markets – spurred by 40G WDM growth(3)
• Increasing demand for 40G mux/demux CFP modules and VSR/DPSK applications

Quotes:

Jim King, Executive Director of Optical Technology Planning and Development, AT&T
"AT&T has been deploying 40G extensively across our network since 2005.  Broadcom's 40G CMOS chipset enables the new CFP tri-rate modules and applications that are key to continuous cost reduction and network growth for AT&T and others."

Lorenzo Longo, Vice President & General Manager, High Speed Interconnect Products, Broadcom
"These new products are the latest innovations to join Broadcom's expanding line of high-speed 10G/40G/100G products. These chipsets also represent an important breakthrough for the industry by enabling OEMs to take advantage of 40nm CMOS process technology with the inherent advantages of lower power consumption and increased reliability."

Supported Resources:
Broadcom OFC/NFOEC 2012 Featured Product Page
Broadcom News Room
B-Connected Broadcom Blog: http://blog.broadcom.com/
Subscribe to Broadcom's RSS Feed: http://go.broadcom.com/sv2

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

(1) Compared to Semtech SMI4027 and SMI4037
(2) Infonetics 1G/10G/40G/100G Networking Ports Market Size and Forecast – 2nd Edition, October 2011 available at http://www.infonetics.com/
(3) Infonetics Networking Ports Market Forecast 4Q10 available at http://www.infonetics.com/

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Infrastructure & Networking