Hittite Microwave Corp of Chelmsford, MA, USA (which designs and supplies analog, digital and mixed-signal RF, microwave and millimeter-wave ICs, modules and subsystems as well as instrumentation) has launched what it claims is the industry's lowest-power and smallest-form-factor SMT-packaged optical modulator driver, which operates from DC to 30GHz and is designed for 40Gbps and 100Gbps Mach-Zehnder modulator driver applications.
The HMC5850BG features high gain across a wide frequency range, low power dissipation, very compact size, integrated peak detector function, fast rise/fall time and integrated bias-tee inductor. The driver provides 8Vp-p saturated output swing up to 32Gbps and features output swing cross-point adjustment.
With a wide supply operating range from +5V to +7V, the HMC5850BG consumes only 1W of power, and provides long-haul system designers with scalable power dissipation for varying output drive requirements. The integrated peak detector function enables monitoring and maintains a constant output swing from the modulator driver. An integrated high-speed bias-tee eliminates the requirement for external components. The HMC5850BG can also interface with the HMC981LP3E active bias controller, enabling stability of performance over operating conditions.
The HMC5850BG operates in the -40°C to +85°Ctemperature range, provides up to 32dB of gain, and exhibits very low additive rms jitter of 230fs and supports up to 32Gbps operation. The output swing is adjustable from 5Vp-p to 8Vp-p.
The HMC5850BG features RF I/Os that are internally matched to 50 Ohms, and is housed in a 9.75mm x 6mm x 3.29mm laminate-substrate-based BGA surface-mount package that comes with an ESD protection feature. Samples and evaluation PC boards for all SMT-packaged products are available from stock.
