Broadcom Introduces World's First Single-Chip 10-Gigabit Ethernet Serial Transceiver in a Standard CMOS Process for Optical Networks

Business Wire, May 2, 2001

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2001

World's Only Single-Chip 10-Gigabit Ethernet Serial Transceiver

Provides Crucial 10-Gigabit Ethernet Link to Optical MAN and LAN

Networks at 40% of the Power and Size of Competing Multi-Chip

Solutions

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq:BRCM), the leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, today announced the industry's first single-chip serial transceiver with a XAUI interface that connects 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10-GbE) data signals from the optical fiber to Ethernet networks, thereby providing a complete end-to-end 10-GbE network solution. This breakthrough low power solution represents a milestone that is expected to accelerate the mass deployment of 10-GbE into metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN) by enabling manufacturers to deliver compact, affordable 10-GbE systems to market more quickly.

This new single-chip transceiver, the Broadcom(R) BCM8701 Serial 10-Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver, when combined with Broadcom's BCM8011 second-generation four channel, 3.125 Gigabit per Second (Gbps) transceiver (announced separately today), contains all the electronics necessary to establish a 10-Gigabit Ethernet connection directly from the optical fiber to the switch device.

"10-Gigabit Ethernet is poised to become the highest performance networking protocol of choice for high-speed local area networks (LAN), as well as campus and metropolitan fiber networks," said Marty Colombatto, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Networking Business Unit. "As the first single-chip transceiver solution for 10-Gigabit Ethernet, our BCM8701 transceiver is a critical component that will facilitate the cost-effective deployment of 10-Gigabit Ethernet systems."

The total component count for connecting the switch to the fiber optic signal will be reduced from four to two chips (BCM8701 plus BCM8011) as compared with competitive solutions, and total power consumption will be reduced to approximately 40 percent of competitive solutions.

The WAN network backbone is well established, but the MAN and access networks are dominated by slower legacy technologies that made sense when voice calls represented the majority of traffic flowing across the network. Today, data traffic is already more abundant than voice and is growing at a far higher rate. Ethernet is a natural choice to meet the needs of metro and access networks because it possesses a superior cost/performance profile resulting from its dominant position in LANs, as well as a large and mature vendor base. Ethernet scales in speed from 10 million bits per second to 10 billion bits per second providing both the bandwidth and scalability required in today's dynamic networking environment. In particular, 10-Gigabit Ethernet matches the installed WAN backbone speed of OC-192 optical fiber networks. As with all Ethernet technologies, 10-GbE supports all types of network traffic -- voice, video and data -- in an intelligent switchable network.

Broadcom's BCM8701 10.3125 Gbps Serial Ethernet LAN PHY is the first to integrate the 10-Gigabit Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) and exceeds the performance requirements of the IEEE802.3ae draft. It provides a single-chip physical layer solution and is targeted for use in 10-GbE laser modules and line cards for network applications linking Gigabit and 10-GbE traffic.

The BCM8701, combined with Broadcom's BCM8011 four-channel 3.125 Gigabaud (GBd) transceiver, creates an all-CMOS chipset for linking 10-GbE traffic directly from serial optical fiber modules to a switch device or customer ASIC. The BCM8011 links serial fiber modules to the switching chip via XAUI and 10-Gigabit Media Independent Interfaces (XGMII). The BCM8701/BCM8011 two-chip set complies with the proposed draft of the IEEE 803.2ae standards committee addressing the serial 10-GbE link, and is ideal for use in network equipment that aggregates Gigabit Ethernet traffic from the enterprise to 10-GbE for the MAN or WAN.

The XAUI interface used in Broadcom's solution reduces component count from four chips to two when compared to competitive solutions using a 10-Gigabit Serial Bus Interface (XSBI). The latter implementations require a mux/demux and XSBI to XGMII converter ICs. Design flexibility is also increased by use of the XAUI interface, which allows the BCM8011 to be placed up to 20 inches from the optical module using the BCM8701.

"Broadcom's single-chip design for the BCM8701, combined with its low power consumption, makes it an excellent choice for optical fiber modules. This technology helps module vendors to reduce module size and power consumption, which enables higher density, thus contributing to lower overall system cost," said Chris Simoneaux, Director -- Product Line Management for Picolight.

The BCM8701 serial 10-GbE to XAUI transceiver integrates an IEEE 802.3ae compliant 10.3125 Gbps serial Ethernet LAN PHY transmitter and receiver with Clock and Data Recovery (CDR), a four channel 3.125 Gbps XAUI interface, and a 64B/66B and 8B/10B encoder/decoder. The device is implemented in a standard CMOS process, with a single 1.8V power supply, enabling a low power dissipation of 2.5 watts. It is packaged in a 23 mm x 23 mm BGA with a 1 mm ball pitch.