Design of Energy-Efficient High-Speed Links via Forward Error Correction

In this brief, we show that forward error correction (FEC) can reduce power in high-speed serial links. This is achieved by trading off the FEC coding gain with specifications on transmit swing, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) precision, jitter tolerance, receive amplification, and by enabling higher signal constellations. For a 20-in FR4 link carrying 10-Gb/s data, we demonstrate: 1) an 18-mW/Gb/s savings in the ADC; 2) a 1-mW/Gb/s reduction in transmit driver power; 3) up to 6x improvement in transmit jitter tolerance; and 4) a 25- to 40-mV improvement in comparator offset tolerance with 3x smaller swing.