12.5Gb/s optical driver and receiver ICs with double threshold AGC for SATA Out-of-Band transmission

Abstract

In order to realize reliable OOB (Out-of-Band) transmission which is a major problem in optically connected SATA (Serial ATA) or SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), 12.5 Gb/s driver and receiver ICs with a newly-developed double threshold AGC were fabricated by TSMC 90 nm CMOS process. The double threshold AGC realized the rejection of small noise in a transmission line in an idle condition and the suppression of long decay in the end of a burst, and highly reliable optical OOB transmission was achieved. Optically connected SATA 6 Gb/s system operation was demonstrated for the first time in the world.