“Transmit and Receive IC Design for Fiber Optic Links”

Fiber Optic Links have become the cornerstone of the internet as we know it.  Ever faster transmission speeds are needed to keep up with the user’s insatiable desire for more bandwidth.  Key for the growth of the fiber optic market is the analog ICs on both transmit and receive side of the fiber optic systems.  This course covers the basics of high speed IC design for fiber optic links and is broken into the following three parts.

The first portion of the course examines design theories and trade-offs for transimpedance amplifiers and direct modulated laser and external modulator drivers used in today’s advanced optical systems.  Different topologies of TIA and drivers are examined along with appropriate analog equalization and pre-distortion to increase robustness of the system.  Holistic approach that includes device nonlinear characteristics as well as the packaging will be discussed.  The focus is on high-speed, high-density, low-power and low-cost requirements to make optical interconnect ubiquitous.

Clock and Data Recovery (CDR) is a key function in a communication system. We begin this part of the course with a review of the fundamentals of CDR in Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ) serial links. System level metrics like jitter-tolerance, jitter-transfer and jitter-generation are introduced to evaluate the performance of a CDR.  Several CDR architectures are discussed. Their advantages and drawbacks specifically for high-speed optical systems are compared. Many optical systems require a reference-less CDR. Various techniques to extract frequency from the incoming data are explained in detail. Linear and bang-bang phase detectors at full-rate are introduced. Sub-rate structures that ease the speed requirements of the circuits are also described.

The last section of the course covers optical modulators.  Silicon Photonic based Mach-Zehnder modulators are targeted as key elements for next generation optical communication systems. This course will address the current designs, approaches and applications for silicon photonic modulators. Fundamental concepts in photonic device design, such as optical waveguide basics, optical modulation in silicon, modulator bandwidth, loss, and efficiency shall be covered.

Topics Covered and Instructors:

1)       Optical Frontends - The’ Linh Nguyen (Finisar)

2)       Clock and Data Recovery Techniques for Optical Communication Systems - Kumar Lakshmikumar (Ciena)

3)       SiP MZM Technology - Mark Webster (Ciena)

 

“Microwave Package Design Fundamentals”

The IC designer’s job has traditionally been done after they design their high frequency MMIC.   However, higher integration and performance needs have forced the MMIC development process to include the design of the package and MMIC interfaces during the MMIC design process.  This course is intended as an introductory to intermediate level course for process engineers, designers, quality engineers, and managers responsible for design and manufacture of microwave circuits and devices in packaging technology.  This course examines the aspects of RF microwave packaging from a practical perspective with the instructors sharing valuable lessons learned from years of experience.  Both high speed and high power microwave applications are covered along with design issues, material trade-offs and process selection. Microwave Design for Manufacturability concepts are introduced along with mitigating the RF parasitics that inherently are created when packaging microwave ICs and devices.

Topics Covered and Instructors:

1) Packaging Fundamentals - Tom Green (TJ Green Associates) http://www.tjgreenllc.com/

2) RF Design for Packaging - Mike Heimlich (Macquarie University, Australia)