Broadcom Announces Industry's First CMOS 40G PHY for Long Haul Optical Transport

New Chipset Increases Network Bandwidth, Reduces Power and Boosts Reliability

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 20, 2011 --

News Highlights:

• New 40G DQPSK Mux/Demux chipset dramatically reduces power consumption by 50 percent(1)
• Delivers higher reliability and shorter fab cycle time at competitive cost
• Provides building blocks for 100G optical transmission and beyond in future products

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced its next generation 40G physical layer transceiver (PHY) chipset, designed to address the need for higher bandwidth and lower power in Optical Transport Networks (OTN). Broadcom's new 40G PHY chipset is the industry's first to leverage CMOS technology for 40G optical transmission using DQPSK modulation, providing high reliability, lower power consumption and shorter fab cycle time for long haul DWDM transmission.

Demand for additional network bandwidth is being driven by broadband consumer applications such as streaming video, HD video and on-demand services. Broadcom's 40G PHY chipset, including the BCM84141 demultiplexer (Demux) for receiving data, and the BCM84142 multiplexer (Mux) for transmission, work together to deliver a significant increase in network bandwidth and scale while significantly reducing power consumption by more than 50 percent. Broadcom's 40G DQPSK chipset is currently in production with multiple customers. Visit Optical Transport Products to learn more.

The high speed network port market is estimated to hit $52 billion in 2015(2) as operators continue to upgrade legacy networks to manage the increasing global demand for higher bandwidth.  At the same time, operators are looking to minimize complexity, cost, and power consumption.  Broadcom's 40G PHY chipset provides a cost-effective, reliable solution to meet operator needs today and the building blocks required for future optical transmission speeds up to 100G and beyond.  Broadcom's 40G PHY chipset integrates high performance more than 20 Gbps IOs, which is essential for developing future devices that will support 100G optical transmission.

Market Drivers:

• The number of 1G/10G/40G/100G network ports jumped 43 percent in 2010(2)
• Manufacturer revenue grew 28 percent in 2010, to just under $33 billion(2)
• Revenue estimated to hit $52 billion in 2015(2)
• OTN switching is a clear requirement for packet-optical transport system equipment(3)
• 40G demand fueled by falling port prices, growing traffic demands, and next-generation components(4)

Key Facts:

BCM84141 Demux Features

•  2x23 Gbps to SFI-5.1 demux provides two receivers for data recovery on I and Q channels
• Automatic or manual alignment of I and Q channels fully integrated
• Serial control/serial peripheral interface (BSC/SPI) port for status monitoring
• Mux + Demux power dissipation:  2.3W

BCM84142 Mux Features

• Fully integrated multiplexer and precoder to accept SFI-5.1 data
• Deskew channel for multiplexing to 2x23 Gbps
• Two transmit data streams operating from 21.5 to 22.8 Gbps
• Source centered clock with frequency of 21.5 to 22.8 GHz or divided-by-2
• Skew control capability between the I and Q channels and high-speed clock output
• Internal phase detector for clean-up phased lock loop (PLL) implementation

Availability

The BCM84141 and BCM84142 are now available in production release status.

Quotes:

Lorenzo Longo, Vice President & General Manager, High Speed Interconnect Products, Broadcom Corporation

"Our new CMOS 40G PHY chipset is a key breakthrough for Optical Transport Networks and is the first in a new generation of high speed PHYs for 40G/100G applications in our product pipeline.  The increasing demand for higher bandwidth content continues to push the industry rapidly toward 40G and beyond. At the same time, optical transport network suppliers face increasing pressure to deliver products that offer higher bandwidth and better reliability while consuming less power."

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.