VPI design suite predicts integrity of optical data links, says Keysight
High performance optical hardware can be developed using the PathWave Advanced Design System (ADS) with VPI design suite from VPIphotonics, says Keysight Technologies.
The electrical-optical-electrical system design workflow enables designers to predict the signal integrity of data links. It is expected to be used in data centres which transport vast amounts of data using electrical Ethernet connections. As demand for greater throughput grows, many connections are moving to optical fibre and more sophisticated modulation schemes are needed to deliver the resulting increased capacity. Complex equalisation is needed to maintain data link performance.
Keysight’s VPI Optical Link in PathWave ADS simulates and optimises design parameters concurrently in electrical and optical domains. This is claimed to eliminate key barriers to developing high performance hardware products. It can predict the data link bit error rate (BER) and understand how electrical design choices will interplay with optical design choices to deliver a reliable system design.
The electro-optical workflow can process millions of bits in minutes for accurate BER prediction, confirmed Keysight. As a result of this rapid simulation, system architects can investigate link performance characteristics with varied fibre lengths, effects of distortion/dispersion, optical drive level, electrical transmitter and receiver equalisation settings, as well as electrical channel design including trace routing and the design of PCB vias.
Referring to the variety of constraints in developing optical interconnect solutions for intra and inter data centre applications, André Richter, general manager of VPIphotonics, said: “With this new seamless design flow linking simulations of the electronic circuits at the transceivers with simulations of the optical fibre link, [this solution] offers the investigation and optimisation of overall system performance.”
Keysight Technologies offers products for design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimisation in networks and cloud environments.
Its customers span the worldwide communications ecosystem, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end markets.
