Maxim’s 40g chipset reduces power consumption, boosts data-center throughput

Maxim Integrated Products Inc. announced a 40G transmitter chipset that provides data centers with 4x the data throughput, at very low power, and in little more space than conventional single-channel alternatives.

The new 4-channel 40GBASE-LR4 QSFP+ chipset comprises the MAX3948 DC-coupled laser driver and the DS4830 optical microcontroller.  

Data centers and data communication networks need to significantly increase data density while staying within their already constrained power budgets. Maxim’s QSFP+ transmitter solution addresses both challenges. The QSFP+ modules supply 4x the data throughput in only 1.5x the area of a single-channel SFP+ solution. Equally important, Maxim’s chipset enables 4 x 10Gbps QSFP+ modules to consume less power per channel than single SFP+ modules.

MAX3948 key highlights:

• Consumes less than 2W for 4 transmit channels, enabling less than 3.5W QSFP+ module power consumption.
• DC-coupled laser interface (patent-pending, application number 13/352,011) reduces power consumption and external component count.
  

DS4830 key highlights:

• On-chip 13-bit ADC with dedicated round-robin offloads 16-bit microcontroller core and lowers clock speed; saves 75mW to 100mW compared to competitive solutions.
• Single-cycle multiply accumulator (MAC) allows DS4830 to speed through filter calculations and easily maintain four average power control (APC) loops.
  

The MAX3948 is available in a 3mm x 3mm, 16-pin TQFN package and is specified for the -40°C to +95°C temperature range. Pricing starts at $5 (1000-up, FOB USA).

The DS4830 is available in a 5mm x 5mm, 40-pin TQFN package. Pricing starts at $2.85 (1000-up, FOB USA). 

For more details, please click here.