Vixar wins SBIR contract to develop 40-100 Gbit/s VCSEL

Plymouth, MN--The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to Vixar, a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) maker, to demonstrate the feasibility of a Composite Resonator VCSEL (CRVCL) that achieves a 40–100 Gbit/s serial data transmission rate to meet continued Internet bandwidth demands.

As conventional VCSELs are running out of steam somewhere between 20 and 30 Gbit/s, the company's CRVCL avoids relaxation oscillation limitations on modulation speed through the use of a dual-cavity VCSEL operated in a push-pull configuration. In the Phase I project, the company will fabricate a CRVCL that demonstrates the push-pull nature of the modulation to a minimum of 20 GHz and the elimination or dramatic reduction in relaxation oscillations.

In addition to their ability in meeting increasing demands in Internet bandwidth, 40 Gbit/s VCSELs will be useful in developing optical interconnects within a cabinet or circuit board. Copper-based interconnects limit system performance due to their size and power consumption, but optical interconnects offer 40 Gbit/s speed per channel, low power, and low cost. Reducing power consumption helps to achieve industry and government goals for reducing the power consumption of data centers.

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