SERDES Framer Interface Level 5 (SFI-5) Protocol

The SERDES Framer Interface Level 5 (SFI-5) protocol is a chip-to-chip and chip-to-module protocol that targets 40-Gbps applications. The standard supports up to 25 percent overhead for forward error correction (FEC) code for a maximum throughput of 50 Gbps, and can also be combined into multiple instances to achieve 100 Gbps of aggregate bandwidth.

The interface can be used to connect various modules – an Optical Transport Network (OTN) module or SONET/SDH Framer and an FEC device; an OTN or SONET/SDH Framer and an external SERDES; or from an FEC device and an external SERDES; or from a FEC device and an optical transponder. Figures 1 and 2 show typical examples of SFI-5 applications.

Figure 1. 40-Gbps SFI-5 Transponder/Regenerator Cards

Notes:

  1. OC-768 = optical carrier with line rate 39,813.12 Mbps
  2. OTN Rx = optical transport node receiver
  3. FEC = forward error correction
  4. EFEC = enhanced forward error correction
  5. O/H = overhead

Figure 2. 40-Gbps SFI-5 Mux Application

Intel's Stratix® V (GX and GT), Stratix IV (GX and GT), and Stratix II GX FPGAs support the SFI-5 interface in 40-Gbps Framer, FEC, and bridging applications. The Stratix II GX family includes devices that have been hardware tested to verify support of SFI-5, and embed up to 20 high-speed serial transceiver channels that can operate at the 2.488-Gbps to 3.125-Gbps rate necessary for SFI-5.1. Stratix IV GX FPGAs are available with up to 48 transceiver channels that can operate in the 2.488-Gbps to 3.125-Gbps range. Stratix IV GT FPGAs are available with up to 24 transceiver channels that can operate in the 9.95 to 11.3 Gbps range for SFI-5.2 operation. For SFI-5.1 support, the serial transceivers must be configured to bonded mode.

Contact your local sales representative for more information on SFI-5 or 40-Gbps Framer and FEC solutions.

Specification

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