10gbase-lx4 optical transceiver in xfp package

Abstract

An optical transceiver for including an electrical connector with a serial interface for coupling with an external electrical cable or information system device, a fiber optic connector adapted for coupling with an external optical fiber, and an electro-optical subassembly for converting between an information containing electrical signal and a modulated optical signal corresponding to the electrical signal including a transmitter subassembly including at least first and second lasers operating at different wavelengths and modulated with respective first and second electrical signals for emitting first and second laser light beams, and an optical multiplexer for receiving the first and second beams and multiplexing the respective optical signals into a single multi-wavelength beam.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 866,265 filed Jun. 14, 2004, assigned to the common assignee.[0002]This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ filed simultaneously herewith and assigned to the common assignee.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The invention relates to optical transceivers, and in particular to Ethernet (IEEE 802.3ae standard) compliant transceivers that provide a 10 Gigabit per second communications link between computers or communications units over optical fibers, such as used in high throughput fiber optic communications links in local and wide area networks and storage networks.[0005]2. Description of the Related Art[0006]A variety of optical transceivers are known in the art which include an optical transmit portion that converts an electrical signal into a modulated light beam that is coupled to a first optical...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides an improved high speed optical transceiver using a serial electrical interface in a small pluggable standardized form factor. The optical transceiver can be used in an optical fiber transmission system with an industry standard 10GBASE-LX4 physical layer and can be adapted for short range and long haul applications using multiple semiconductor laser chips. The optical transceiver includes a housing with an electrical connector and a fiber optic connector, an electro-optical subassembly including first and second lasers operating at different wavelengths and modulated with respective first and second electrical signals for emitting first and second laser light beams, and an optical multiplexer for receiving the first and second beams and multiplexing the respective optical signals into a single multi-wavelength beam. The technical effects of the invention include improved data transmission speed, small size, and compatibility with industry standards."

Problems solved by technology

This small size limits the amount of electrical circuitry that can be implemented in the package, and consequentially in the prior art the majority of electronic signal processing is located in devices on the host board (inside the computer or network unit) rather than within the module in current commercial XFP devices.

The difficulties associated with multi-gigabit signaling over existing wiring has limited the applications for such cabling, although efforts are currently underway for new copper cabling standards.

However, the PHY device performs two very important tasks, which cannot be easily addressed in its absence.

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