Waveguide Interconnects — D/F-Band Systems for >100Gbps Medium Reach Links

Waveguide systems represent an emerging wireline link that projects for reaches between traditional optical and wireline systems. Data-rates beyond 100Gbps are needed for data center and other applications. Circuits for these systems resemble traditional RF/mm-wave architectures with a different channel that exhibits low magnitude loss for longer reaches at the cost of high phase non-linearities that require dispersion mitigation techniques. Technology capabilities and achievable fractional RF bandwidth along with equalization or dispersion compensation techniques impact system choices. Co-design of packaging with the silicon is needed to achieve form-factors small enough for denser future system realizations.