A 5 Terabit/Second EO Transceiver (Q-DOT Research Proposal 9551)

Q-DOT proposes to develop a small, light weight, low-power, multi-channel EO trans-ceiver capable of 10 Gbit/second/channel to support emerging high-speed processors. Currently, the performance of both ground-based and missile-borne processors is constrained by slow data links. As processors continue to increase in speed and complexity, the need for a high speed data link will become acute. The proposed transceiver will simultaneously transmit 256 channels of data while it receives 256 channels of data. The combined data rate exceeds 5 Terabit/second. The transceiver will mount on an RF board in a 15 mm x 15 mm (0.6 6 (0.2 0'). Sanders will support the transceiver development with its optical expertise and has already demonstrated suitable optical components. Phase I will focus on designing SiGe BiCMOS driver/receiver chips and transmission line interfaces. A single-channel demonstration at 10 Gbit/second is proposed as a Phase I option. A 512 channel EO transceiver will be realized in Phase II. Q-DOT will work with Sanders to commercialize the 5 Tbit/second E0 transceiver in Phase III.