Driver assisted by charge sharing

A system, comprising:

• a light emitting device;
• a data channel configured to provide a data signal;
• a switch configured to couple a current source with the light emitting device upon receipt of the data signal;
• and
• a first variable capacitor coupled in parallel to the current source at a common mode node on a source terminal of the switch, wherein the first variable capacitor comprises a plurality of capacitive elements coupled in parallel and configured to be activated by a programmable signal, and wherein the programmable signal is selected to increase a slew rate from the light emitting device when the switch is turned on and when the switch is turned off.

A serial interface, comprising:

• an opto-electronic data link, comprising:
• a light emitting device configured to convert an electric input signal into an optical output signal;
• a data channel configured to provide the electric input signal;
• a switch configured to couple a current source with the light emitting device upon receipt of the electric input signal;
• and
• a variable capacitor coupled in parallel to the current source at a common node on a source terminal of the switch, wherein the variable capacitor comprises multiple capacitive elements coupled in parallel and configured to be activated by a programmable signal, and wherein the programmable signal is selected to reduce a bit error rate between the electric input signal and the optical output signal.