Low-power 2.5 Gbit/s VCSEL driver in 0.5 µmCMOS technology

0.5 µm CMOS technology is used to drive oxide-confined low-threshold current vertical cavity surface emitting laser diodes at 2.5 Gbit/s. The 7 mW power consumption for the optoelectronic transmitter is twenty times less than a 3.6 V electronic positive emitter coupled logic transmit circuit and four times less than a 3.6 V electronic low voltage differential signal transmit circuit.