Use of laser technology for high speed data transmission between next-generation spacecraft requires new circuit technology and data recovery techniques to support the higher bit rates. This project designs the clock and data recovery circuitry for the case where the reference clock is operating at the data rate rather than a multiple of the data rate. The circuitry will use gallium-arsenide technology and offer an operational data rate in the 1 to 2 gigabit per second range. Design criteria for data coding techniques will include transmission power, reference clock rate with respect to data rate, tolerance to jitter, error detection and correction techniques, worst case synchronization time, implementation complexity, etc. Manchester and QPPM coding of the data will be evaluated. GaAs is the device technology recommended because of its superior speed-power product, tolerance to radiation effects, and high speed operation.
Potential Commercial Applications: The techniques for high-bit-rate data synchronization will also be applicable for next-generation telephone transmission systems, digital television, and optical disks. Very-high-speed serial data transfer using laser technology may well be the best solution for the bus interconnect of large, parallel-processor systems.STATUS: Project Proceded to Phase II
