A 20Gb/s VCSEL driver with pre-emphasis and regulated output impedance in 0.13μm CMOS

Abstract

Two 20 Gb/s optical transmitters are presented. They are a part of a 4/spl times/12 array intended for backplane data links. The drivers are fabricated in 0.13 /spl mu/m CMOS and include pre-emphasis and regulated output impedance. When coupled to 990 nm VCSELs, they provide optical modulation amplitude of 0 dBm and consume 70 mW and 120 mW.