Broadcom Introduces Low Power 10G Physical Layer Device for Long Haul and Metro Transmission in Optical Transport Networks

SAN DIEGO, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OFC 2010 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that it is expanding its long haul transmission chip portfolio with new 10 Gigabit (10G) physical layer (PHY) transceivers designed in 65 nanometer (65nm) process technology. The Broadcom® BCM8155 and BCM8157 multi-rate transceivers support data rates ranging from 8.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) to 11.352 Gbps and feature the industry's lowest power consumption with industry-leading long reach jitter performance. The BCM8155 provides additional support for Return to Zero (RZ) modulation. These next generation Broadcom PHYs are both fully integrated, multi source agreement (MSA)-compliant devices that support multi-rate applications including 8.5G Fibre Channel, OC-192 SONET/SDH, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE), 10G Fibre Channel (10FC) and optical transport networks (OTNs)/OTU-2 data rates.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• SONET/SDH and OTN equipment is required for long haul transmission and the most cost effective and widely deployed modulation in use today are the Non Return to Zero (NRZ) and Duo-binary (DB) formats. RZ modulation is more suitable for longer transmission distances because it is not adversely affected by fiber dispersion, however, it has not been widely deployed due to its higher cost and power consumption. Existing solutions in the market today require two-chips—a mux and an NRZ to RZ converter—that consume as much as 2.5 watts of power.
• Broadcom's expertise in 65nm design has made it possible to integrate the RZ modulation format into a cost effective device that consumes only 600 milliwatts (mW), or 50% less power than competing two-chip solutions, making the BCM8155 10G PHY ideally suited for OTN equipment that uses 300-pin MSA-compliant modules for long haul transmission.
• The BCM8155 and BCM8157:  
  • Are fully integrated MSA-compliant, multi-rate SONET/SDH, 10GbE, 10FC and OTU-2 optical transport network transceivers that operate at 8.5GFC (8.5Gbps), OC-192 (9.953 Gbps), 10GbE (10.3125 Gbps), 10FC (10.513 Gbps) or FEC data rates (i.e. 10.664/10.709/11.096/11.318/11.352 Gbps).
  • Support NRZ and DB modulation.
  • Provide industry-leading low jitter generation of less than 200 femtoseconds (or 2mUI RMS) and provide ample margin for designs required to meet the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Telcordia® maximum specification limit of 10mUI RMS for jitter generation.
• The BCM8155 incorporates additional advanced features such as RZ modulation, duo-binary encoder, dispersion compensation, 10GHz clock output, 10G transmit pre-emphasis and pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS)  pattern generation and detection capabilities.  
• The BCM8157 is targeted for use in line cards that interface to XFP modules in metro applications.  

Supporting Quotes:

Lorenzo Longo, Vice President & General Manager, Broadcom's High Speed Interconnect Products line of business  

"Our new 10G PHY offerings extend our leadership by achieving the lowest power consumption, highest integration and best-in-class performance available. 65nm process technology enabled us to integrate the RZ modulation format to create a cost effective, low power solution that does not need additional chips or external modulators as required by competitive solutions."  

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About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications.  Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment.  We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices.  These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom, one of the world's largest fabless communications semiconductor companies, with 2009 revenue of $4.49 billion, holds more than 3,800 U.S. and 1,550 foreign patents, and has more than 7,800 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

A FORTUNE 500® company, Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe.  Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change.  Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words.  Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the demand for 10G PHYs for long haul and metro transmission and our position in that segment.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with the BCM8155 and BCM8157 10G PHY transceivers include, but are not limited to:

• Trends in the broadband communications markets in various geographic regions, including seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are incorporated,
• Competitive pressures and other factors such as the qualification, availability and pricing of competing products and technologies and the resulting effects on sales and pricing of our products; and
• The rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt Broadcom's technologies and products in the markets.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q12010.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.  The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

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.  Telcordia® is a trademark of Telcordia Technologies, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Enterprise Networking