FPGAs Implement SFI-5 For Faster Throughput

Feb. 8, 2008
Altera’s implementation of the SERDES (serializer/deserializer) Framer Interface Level 5 (SFI-5) specification really ramps up the speed. The company’s Stratix II GX FPGAs with embedded transceivers support the spec’s 40- to 50-Gbit/s aggregate data

Altera’s implementation of the SERDES (serializer/deserializer) Framer Interface Level 5 (SFI-5) specification really ramps up the speed. The company’s Stratix II GX FPGAs with embedded transceivers support the spec’s 40- to 50-Gbit/s aggregate data throughput requirement (see the figure). SPI-5 is a chip-to-chip standard for interoperability between the forward error correction processor, the framer, and compliant optical transponder devices.

The company has hardware-tested the Stratix II GX devices to verify compliance to the SFI-5 standard. These FPGAs support the data throughput rate with up to 20 high-speed transceiver channels that can manage between 600 Mbits/s and 6.375 Gbits/s. Thus, they can achieve 50 Gbits/s with several channels to spare.

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) developed the SFI-5 specification to provide a communication channel between network processing devices and optical transponders for high bandwidths. It supports the OC-768, SMT256, and OTN OUT-3 network transport formats.

“The SFI-5 standard, as implemented in our Stratix II GX FPGAs, is being adopted rapidly by high-performance optical communications systems,” said David Greenfield, senior director of product marketing, high-end products, at Altera. “For designers developing next-generation wireline communications applications, our Stratix II GX FPGAs easily exceed the demanding SFI-5 signal integrity and skew requirements with ample margin.”

Production-qualified Stratix II GX FPGAs, with support for the SFI-5 protocol, are available now.

Altera

www.altera.com/sfi5

Sponsored Recommendations

Highly Integrated 20A Digital Power Module for High Current Applications

March 20, 2024
Renesas latest power module delivers the highest efficiency (up to 94% peak) and fast time-to-market solution in an extremely small footprint. The RRM12120 is ideal for space...

Empowering Innovation: Your Power Partner for Tomorrow's Challenges

March 20, 2024
Discover how innovation, quality, and reliability are embedded into every aspect of Renesas' power products.

Article: Meeting the challenges of power conversion in e-bikes

March 18, 2024
Managing electrical noise in a compact and lightweight vehicle is a perpetual obstacle

Power modules provide high-efficiency conversion between 400V and 800V systems for electric vehicles

March 18, 2024
Porsche, Hyundai and GMC all are converting 400 – 800V today in very different ways. Learn more about how power modules stack up to these discrete designs.

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!