A 24 Gb/s Software Programmable Analog Multi-Tone Transmitter

A 24 Gb/s transmitter employs a digital linear equalizer and a 12 GS/s 8-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Implemented in a 90 nm CMOS technology, the transmitter can be programmed to support a variety of communication modes including 4-channel and 2-channel analog multi-tone (AMT), as well as various baseband (BB) modes ranging from 2 to 256 PAM. Selection of the transmission mode is enabled through software programming of the appropriate tap coefficients into the equalizer. The transmitter dissipates 510 mW of power and is fabricated over an area of 0.8 mm. Experimental results confirm clear eye diagrams at 28 Gb/s.