Design of a 4-channel 10-Gb/s CMOS VCSEL driver array

A 4-channel CMOS VCSEL driver array is implemented in 0.13-mum CMOS technology. The optical transmitter drives VCSEL array, operating up to 10-Gb/s with APC (5-20-mA) and AMC (5-15-mApp) loops to obtain constant and reliable optical output power. To enhance the bandwidth of the pre-amplifier, active feedback technique with negative impedance compensation (NIC) is exploited. A single channel VCSEL driver achieves 12-dB voltage gain, 10-Gb/s operations with 8.5-GHz bandwidth for 0.2-pF VCSEL capacitance and 50-mW power consumption for 1.8-V single supply.