A 40-Gbps 0.5-pJ/bit VCSEL driver in 28nm CMOS with complex zero equalizer

This paper presents a tunable equalizer to compensate for the under-damped response of VCSELs. The equalizer transfer function has a pair of tunable complex zeros to cancel the complex conjugate poles in the VCSEL's electrical-optical transfer function enabling faster operation at lower VCSEL bias. A prototype was fabricated in 28nm CMOS technology. Utilizing the equalizer the prototype achieved 40Gbps operation with 0.5pJ/b power efficiency and 1.3dBm OMA.

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