ASICs designed in IBM's 8HP silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS Specialty Foundry technology are exceeding target specifications for a new performance oscilloscope from Tektronix designed to be capable of greater than 30-GHz bandwidth across multiple channels, while minimizing the noise found in older chip sets. IBM's 8HP technology, a 130-nanometer (nm) SiGe bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) process, offers 2X performance over the previous generation, said a company representative.
SiGe technology leverages reliable, mature fabrication processes associated with the 50-year-old silicon industry, but with performance levels comparable to that of exotic materials such as Indium Phosphide (InP) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), the representative added. SiGe BiCMOS provides access to high-speed bipolar transistors on the same die as standard CMOS, marrying performance with large-scale integration.
Initial Tektronix product deployments using 8HP SiGe technology are expected later this year.
The new Tektronix oscilloscope platform is being designed to meet electronic designers' needs for more accurate characterization of high-speed serial data beyond 10 Gbps (Gigabits per second) and enhance optical modulation analysis of 100GbE (Gigabit Ethernet), where complex signaling requires accurate bit capture.
"This represents our first commercial integration of 8HP technology and clearly shows the latest generation of SiGe is delivering significant performance differentiation to the industry's most demanding oscilloscope applications. This year, we will be delivering a new series of performance oscilloscopes with the lowest noise and class-leading signal acquisition performance across multiple channels," said Roy Siegel, general manager, Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "IBM's SiGe technology has long delivered the performance and reliability our customers demand and as our lab demonstration indicates, this will continue well into the future."
More Info: www.tek.com
[Source: Lightwave]
