Gennum Corporation, a global provider of high-speed optical, analog and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions, has expanded its portfolio by launching into mass production the industry's first 16G Fibre Channel module chipset which is also compatible with existing Fibre Channel applications, including 4-8G Fibre Channel and 10G Fibre Channel over Ethernet.

Gennum has been designing innovative semiconductor solutions as well as intellectual property (IP) cores for consumer connectivity, enterprise, video broadcast, and data communications products.

Joining one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios of optical transceiver IC products ranging from 100Mb/s-100Gb/s, the new 4-16G multi-rate module IC solution chipset is comprised of the company’s two groundbreaking products – the GN2017 and the GN1068.

The GN2017 transceiver incorporated into the new IC solution chipset is the industry's first dual CDR (clock and data recovery) with integrated VCSEL driver and limiting amplifier that addresses signal integrity issues at 14Gb/s speeds – the data rate adopted for 16G Fibre Channel.

Compliant with the FC-PI-5 standard for fiber optic links, the GN2017 transceiver supports Fibre Channel over Ethernet and legacy Fibre Channel rates, and lowers the total BOM cost by integrating the limiting amplifier, VCSEL driver and dual CDRs into a single chip.

Enabling modules with less than 1W power consumption, the GN2017 addresses the strict SFP+ module space and power requirements with a small 5mm x 5mm 32-pin QFN package.

Another product being included in the new IC solution chipset is the GN1068, which is a rate-selectable TIA (News - Alert) (transimpedance amplifier) providing high parametric performance at 14Gb/s with the lowest-available power consumption.

Featuring 90mW of power consumption under typical conditions, the GN1068 also features on-chip bandwidth selection thereby facilitating for versatility across multiple Ethernet and Fibre Channel applications, ranging from 4-14Gb/s.

Officials with Gennum said that the combination of a dual CDR transceiver solution with a low power TIA helps in bolstering Fibre Channel networks as the preferred medium for linking virtual servers to storage at 14Gb/s line rates. This, in turn, will facilitate customers to upgrade the speed of their switching networks while remaining compatible with existing protocols.

"Gennum has once again proven its leadership by responding to the industry's complex dual requirements for increased performance at reduced cost and power by designing a highly integrated chipset with best-in-class performance," said Gary Beauchamp, senior VP, mixed signal and optical products at Gennum, in a statement. "Gennum's demonstrated ability to design for high-volume manufacturability allows customers to continue to rely on us to provide proven, reliable products for critical connections between virtualized datacenters."

In recent news as reported by TMCnet, Gennum added two new, feature-packed 3Gb/s cable drivers to its product portfolio of broadcast video semiconductor solutions.