A Reduced-Swing Voltage-Mode Driver for Low-Power Multi-Gb/s Transmitters

Abstract

At a lower supply voltage, voltage-mode drivers draw less current than current-mode drivers. In this paper, we newly propose a voltage-mode driver with an additional current path that reduces the output voltage swing without the need for complicated additional circuitry, compared to conventional voltage-mode drivers. The prototype driver is fabriccated in a 0.13-㎛ CMOS technology and used to transmit data streams at the rate of 2.5 Gb/s. Deemphasis is also implemented for the compensation of channel attenuation. With a 1.2-V supply, it dissipates 8.0 ㎃ for a 400-㎷ output voltage swing.