3.3V Chip Simplifies DWDM Protection Switching

Fabricated using an in-house SiGe process, the MAX3840 3.3V, dual-path crosspoint switch can handle signals of up to 2.7 GHz. Employing internal signal terminations and signal path redundancy for critical data streams makes the MAX3840 suitable for DWDM and SDH/SONET transport, digital cross-connect and high-speed serial backplane applications where space is at a premium. Each crosspoint can fan out and/or multiplex 2.7-Gbps data and 2.7-GHz clock signals. Power consumption from a +3.3V supply with all output channels enabled is 460 mW. The fully differential architecture ensures low crosstalk and 15-ps channel-to-channel skew. Other features include 100-ps rise and fall times and low jitter: 7 ps deterministic jitter and 2 psRMS random jitter. The MAX3840 is available in a 32-pin QFN package, operates from a +3.3V supply over the -40°C to +85°C temperature range, and costs $17.95 each/1,000. Evaluation kits are available.