K-micro and Anritsu collaborate to develop first test tool and methodology to analyze 10G EPON chips

Successful test of K-micro’s CTXL1 10G EPON SerDes chip using Anritsu's Signal Quality Analyzer, MP1800A, paves the way for 10G EPON systems to be shipped

San Jose, Calif. – December 7, 2009 –K-micro (Kawasaki Microelectronics America), a leader in advanced ASICs, and Anritsu announced the development of the first test tool and methodology to analyze 10Gbps Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) chips. The successful test of K-micro’s CTXL1 10G EPON SerDes chip using Anritsu's Signal Quality Analyzer, MP1800A, paves the way for 10G EPON systems to be shipped.

Precise measurements of K-micro’s CTXL1 10G EPON SerDes chip demonstrate its innovative burst mode lock time of '20nsec'. “We have worked with Anritsu, a company well-respected for its technology test solutions, to develop testing for EPON chips because our customers are ready to implement EPON applications and need to know that the chips meet the specifications for the products ,” said Vijay Pathak, CTO at K-micro.

There are two major challenges to evaluate 10G EPON Optical Line Termination (OLT) burst mode SerDes:

1. A Bit Error Rate Test ( BERT) must examine only the delimiter and the payload, and calculate bit error rate. The sync pattern shouldn't be taken into account.

2. SerDes must keep the same latency for every burst. Or, BERT must have the capability to allow latency difference between bursts.

MP1800A's powerful Pulse Pattern Generator (PPG) and Error Detector (ED) easily and accurately calculate the bit error rate, and CTXL1's unique Built In Self Test (BIST) function can successfully align the latency on every burst so BERT is not required to compensate for the variation of the latency between bursts. These two cutting edge technologies met and made it possible to measure burst mode lock time at 10.3125Gbps with BER of better than 1.0E-12.

“Successfully testing K-micro’s10G EPON chip is an important step for the EPON applications market,” said Wade Hulon, Vice President and General Manager, Americas Region at Anritsu. “The two companies worked side-by-side to overcome the challenges of testing this type of technology so that it could be made available to customers.”

About Anritsu

Anritsu Company (www.us.anritsu.com) is the American subsidiary of Anritsu Corporation, a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for more than 110 years. Anritsu provides test equipment for legacy and next-generation wired and wireless communication systems. Anritsu products include wireless, optical, microwave/RF, and digital instruments as well as operations support systems for R&D, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance. Anritsu also provides precision microwave/RF components, optical devices, and high-speed electrical devices for communication products and systems. With offices throughout the world, Anritsu sells in over 90 countries with approximately 4,000 employees.

About K-micro (Kawasaki Microelectronics)

K-micro’s innovative ASIC technologies and world-class design support are used in the consumer electronics, computer, office-automation, networking and storage markets. The company is an active participant in industry standards organizations, including InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) Technical Committee T10 for SCSI Storage Interfaces, PCI Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG), USB Implementers Forum, Universal Plug and Play Forum (UPnP), the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG), Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and OCP International Partnership (OCP-IP). K-micro has design centers in San Jose, Taipei, and Tokyo. For more information, contact the company at 408-570-0555, or visit http://www.k-micro.us