A highly linear 10 Gb/s MOS current mode logic driver with large output voltage swing based on an active inductor

Abstract

This letter proposes a MOS-current-mode-logic (MCML) driver with an active inductor structure to provide large voltage swing with linear response. This design is implemented in 45 nm CMOS with 1.2V supply. Compared with conventional active-inductor-based circuits, this topology enlarges the available single-ended output voltage swing from less than 350 mV to 600 mV. The MCML driver occupies a chip area of 0.0264 mm². Operating at 10 Gb/s over a channel with 3.5 dB loss at 5 GHz, the eye height is measured as 351 mV with 600 mV single-ended voltage swing, and the peak-to-peak jitter is 14.9 ps (0.149 UI).