Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/7434-narda-delivers-modulator-driver-for-40-gb-s-lightwave-systems

Narda Delivers Modulator Driver for 40 Gb/s Lightwave Systems

January 14, 2009

Narda Microwave-East, an L-3 Communications company, announced the FO-MDA-40-25G-1, a low-cost, high-performance lithium niobate modulator driver that delivers exceptional performance in 300-pin MSA transponders employed in DPSK long-reach 40-Gb/s lightwave communication systems.

FO-MDA-40-25G-1 combines monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) developed by Narda specifically for modulator driver applications along with proprietary fabrication techniques. The result is a three-stage modulator driver that produces an exceptional eye pattern and has a 3 dB bandwidth of 85 kHz to 40 GHz, gain of 29 dB, input and output return loss of 12 dB, RMS additive jitter of only 550 ps, rise and fall times (20 to 80 percent) of 10 ps, and output power up to 8 Vpp with an input voltage of 450 mVpp.

The FO-MDA-40-25G-1 operates at a maximum data rate of 43 Gb/s, features electronic eye-crossing control of 40 to 70 percent, and has variable amplitude from 0.5 to 8 Vpp. Power requirements include +3.3 VDC and +5.0 VDC, and operating temperature range is from 0° to +70°C. The FO-MDA-40-25G-1 is housed in a package measuring only 1.1" x 1.1" x 0.34" and uses GPPO connectors.

The FO-MDA-40-25G-1 joins Narda's growing family of products for lightwave systems, including clock oscillators, phase-locked oscillators, electro-absorptive and lithium niobate modulator driver amplifiers, and pulse carver drivers.

Engineering samples of the FO-MDA-40-25G-1 are now available, and production is scheduled for Q1 2009.