The SerDes transceiver's independent transmit and receive channels allow asynchronous data rate operation. This capability gives designers flexibility to develop Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) optical line terminals (OLT) that support 1.25 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps or a mix of both, which makes it easier to upgrade existing systems.

"Texas Instruments' TLK2541 is an outstanding SerDes complement to the Teknovus TK3723 Turbo-EPONTM Optical Line Terminal MAC," said Jerry Wojtowicz, director of hardware engineering, Teknovus. "Together, they enable the design and deployment of optical line terminals for cost-effective FTTx networks supporting internet, voice and HDTV triple-play services." The TLK2541 provides very high-speed input/output data channels for baseband data transmission over controlled impedance media of approximately 50 ohms. The transmission media can be printed-circuit board, copper cable or fiber-optic cable. It offers a low-power solution with a 2.5-V power supply, consuming less than 625 mW.
Other key features include the following:

Fast relock at 1.25 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps for EPON optical line terminals
Industrial temperature range -40C to 85C
Integrated 50-ohms termination resistors on RX
2.5-V supply voltage for low power operation
On-chip 8-bit/10-bit encoding/decoding
Hot plug protection
The TLK2541 transceiver complements TI's family of SerDes devices for 1.25 Gbps EPON units, including the TLK1211 and TLK1221 transceivers. Other serial gigabit transceivers from TI support Ethernet and general purpose communications applications. They contribute to TI's broad interface product offering including families of products for M-LVDS, LVDS, CAN, RS-485, RS-232 and PCI-Express standards. Please see the Interface Selection Guide for more information.
Availability

The TLK2541 is available now in an 80-pin TQFP package, priced at $12.50 in 100-unit quantities. In addition, samples are available online today.-Texas Instruments