US 8,150,270 B2Granted

Compact high-speed modulator driver method and apparatus

AssigneeKitel Technologies LLC

InventorAndrew John Bonthron

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Abstract

Modulator driver for driving an electro-optical modulator in a high-speed optical communications system. In accordance with aspects of the present invention, a modulator driver is presented comprising an input differential limiting amplifier which is coupled to a distributed differential current-switch configuration, where one set of outputs of the distributed differential current-switch configuration are grounded and the other set of outputs are connected to an artificial transmission line structure generating forward traveling and reverse traveling signals, with the reverse traveling signal termination bias inductively coupled to a separately adjustable positive bias voltage, whereby the circuit architecture reduces the number of components and transitions in the high-speed signal path and is compatible with compact, monolithic fabrication requiring a minimal amount of external components for operation. Other methods and apparatus are presented.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A modulator driver apparatus for driving an electro-optical modulator in a high-speed optical communications system, comprising:

a differential limiting input amplifier configured to generate differential output signals in response to an input signal;
a distributed limiting power amplifier comprising a plurality of differential current switching stages having differential inputs inductively coupled to form differential input artificial transmission lines, said differential input artificial transmission lines DC coupled to said differential output signals from said differential limiting input amplifier;
and
a single-ended output artificial transmission line formed by inductively coupling one output signal from each of said differential current switching stages, the other output signal from each of said differential current switching stages being terminated,
whereby the configuration of said differential limiting input amplifier and said distributed limiting power amplifier provides a compact form consistent with monolithic fabrication in an integrated circuit process.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/383,910Filed 30 Mar 2009 · us provisional application
Priority: 31 Mar 2008
Published: US 2009/0243717 A11 Oct 2009
Granted: 3 Apr 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

H03F 3/607
Distributed amplifiers: using FET's
G02F 1/0327
Based on ceramics or electro-optical crystals, e.g. exhibiting Pockels effect or Kerr effect: operation of the cell; Circuit arrangements
H03F 3/45089
Long tailed pairs: non-folded cascode stages
H03F 3/45475
Characterised by the way of implementation of the active amplifying circuit in the differential amplifier: using IC blocks as the active…

Family

Application61/072,503Us provisional application · filed 31 Mar 2008
US 2009/0243717 A1Pre-grant publication · published 1 Oct 2009
US 8,150,270 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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