Gennum Enables Next Generation Storage and Data Communication Networks with Industry's First Integrated Chipset for 16G Fibre Channel

Solution for Both New and Legacy Fibre Channel and Ethernet Designs Now in Mass Production

BURLINGTON, Ontario, September 19, 2011 – Gennum Corporation (TSX:GND), a global innovator in high-speed optical, analog and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions, has expanded its portfolio by launching into mass production the industry's first 16G Fibre Channel module chipset which is also compatible with existing Fibre Channel applications, including 4-8G Fibre Channel and 10G Fibre Channel over Ethernet.

The industry's first and only 4-16G multi-rate module IC solution chipset is comprised of two groundbreaking Gennum products: the GN2017 and the GN1068. The GN2017 transceiver is the industry's first dual CDR (clock and data recovery) with integrated VCSEL driver and limiting amplifier, which addresses signal integrity issues at 14Gb/s speeds, the data rate adopted for 16G Fibre Channel. The GN1068 is a rate-selectable TIA (transimpedance amplifier) offering leading parametric performance at 14Gb/s with the lowest-available power consumption.

Driven by the increasing bandwidth and capacity requirements imposed on switching technology by cloud computing, Fibre Channel networks are being quickly forced into doubling their line rates while improving their cost and power efficiency.

Gennum's combination of a dual CDR transceiver solution with a low power TIA further bolsters Fibre Channel networks as the preferred conduit for linking virtual servers to storage at 14Gb/s line rates, allowing customers to upgrade the speed of their switching networks while remaining compatible with existing protocols. 

"Gennum has once again proven its leadership by responding to the industry's complex dual requirements for increased performance at reduced cost and power by designing a highly integrated chipset with best-in-class performance," said Gary Beauchamp, Senior Vice President, Mixed Signal and Optical Products at Gennum. "Gennum's demonstrated ability to design for high-volume manufacturability allows customers to continue to rely on us to provide proven, reliable products for critical connections between virtualized datacenters."

The GN2017 is compliant with the FC-PI-5 standard for fiber optic links and also supports Fibre Channel over Ethernet and legacy Fibre Channel rates, so that a single module can be designed to support multiple standards. It is the first 14Gb/s device in the industry that lowers the total BOM cost by integrating the limiting amplifier, VCSEL driver and dual CDRs into a single chip. The chip addresses the strict SFP+ module space and power requirements with a small 5mm x 5mm 32-pin QFN package, and enables modules with less than 1W power consumption.

The GN1068 features 90mW of power consumption under typical conditions, making it the lowest power >10Gb/s TIA available on the market. It features on-chip bandwidth selection allowing for versatility across multiple Ethernet and FibreChannel applications, ranging from 4-14Gb/s. Based on existing Gennum TIA's which have received wide market acceptance with over 44 million devices sold, the GN1068's low input noise and high gain give excellent sensitivity performance while excluding crosstalk and power supply noise. The GN1068 continues Gennum's excellence for use in high-volume manufacturability using a variety of OSA packages, including TO-cans.

Gennum's new 16G Fibre Channel module chipset joins one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios of optical transceiver IC products ranging from 100Mb/s-100Gb/s. For component suppliers, this highly differentiated set of products gives a unique roadmap that improves performance and reliability, simplifies design, lowers costs and speeds time to market. For systems designers and manufacturers, Gennum's multi-lane and multi-rate 10Gb/s-100Gb/s backplane solutions provide cost-effective low power, high performance ways to enable next-generation networks.

Availability

The GN1068 TIA and GN2017 transceiver chips are in full production, with the TIA available in bare-die format and the transceiver chip available in a 5x5mm QFN package.  The ordering part numbers are GN1068-CHIP and GN2017AINE3.

About Gennum Corporation

Gennum Corporation (TSX: GND) designs innovative semiconductor solutions and intellectual property (IP) cores for the world's most advanced consumer connectivity, enterprise, video broadcast and data communications products. Leveraging the company's proven optical, analog and mixed-signal products and IP, Gennum enables multimedia and data communications products to send and receive information without compromising the signal integrity. Recognized as an award winner for advances in high definition (HD) broadcasting, Gennum is headquartered in Burlington, Canada, and has global design, research and development and sales offices in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, United States, Taiwan, India and the United Kingdom. www.gennum.com.