Low power consumption small form-factor pluggable transceiver

摘要

A method is provided to lower the overall power consumption of small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers. The method includes receiving an indication to operate the SFP transceiver in a low power mode, and setting the SFP transceiver to a low power mode in response to the indication by at least switching off a thermal electric cooler (TEC) that controls a temperature of a laser diode of the SFP transceiver. The proposed method may be implemented whenever a reach is not more than a predetermined distance, for example, 65 kilometers. At such reduced distances, the TEC of the SFP transceiver can be switched off while still guaranteeing link functionality. The instant low power mode has the benefit of reducing the power consumption of the SFP transceiver so that, for example, host platforms with lower power delivery budgets can support the SFP transceiver for at least some applications.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
determining whether or not to operate a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver in a low power mode based on a desired reach for the SFP transceiver after a thermal electric cooler (TEC) has been effectively switched off; when the determining indicates that the SFP transceiver is to operate in the low power mode, instructing a processor of the SFP transceiver to send a signal to a TEC driver to modify an intended operation of an automatic temperature control module to set a loop gain of the automatic temperature control module to zero such that a difference between a target temperature of a laser diode of the SFP transceiver and an actual temperature of the laser diode as indicated by a thermistor of the SFP transceiver is zero to effectively switch off the TEC that controls a temperature of the laser diode of the SFP transceiver; and adjusting output target power of the SFP transceiver to operate in the low power mode.