ClariPhy Communications develops mixed-signal CMOS integrated circuits (ICs) that enable ubiquitous adoption of advanced signal processing technology in 10, 40 and 100 Gbit/s optical networks, thereby eliminating the cost and legacy infrastructure barriers to widespread deployment.

ClariPhy is the first and only provider of 10 Gbit/s electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) ICs that utilize maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) technology in a low-cost, low-power CMOS process. ClariPhy’s MLSD-based ICs provide significant advantages in link budget performance for both telecom and enterprise applications.

ClariPhy is headquartered in Irvine, CA, and has an office in Silicon Valley and a design center in Cordoba, Argentina.   

Market Opportunity

The mass adoption of bandwidth-intensive internet applications such as video and mobile broadband is straining the capacity of telecom networks. Carriers and equipment providers expect bandwidth usage to double every 18 months for the foreseeable future. As a result, carriers are rapidly expanding their deployments of 10, 40 and 100 Gigabit per second (Gbit/s) networking equipment. At the same time, enterprise applications such as server virtualization, storage networking, search and video hosting are driving the deployment of 10 Gbit/s Ethernet (10GE) in datacenters and enterprise LANs. 10GE port shipments have doubled year over year for several years running, with approximately 1.7 million ports to ship in 2008. At speeds of 10 Gbit/s and above, both telecom and enterprise networks are almost exclusively optical.

ClariPhy's Solution

ClariPhy Communications develops state-of-the-art mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) for 10, 40 and 100 Gbit/s optical networking and communication applications, aiming to capitalize on this dynamic market growth. Initially funded in June 2004, the company is headquartered in Irvine, California, with an office in Silicon Valley and a design center in Cordoba, Argentina (under the subsidiary ClariPhy Argentina SA). ClariPhy has assembled a world-class international team with deep experience in digital signal processing (DSP) and mixed-signal IC design. Its ICs incorporate sophisticated signal processing algorithms that increase the performance, speed and reach of optical networks while simultaneously reducing their cost.

ClariPhy’s customers are OEMs of networking equipment such as switches, servers, and optical modules. The Company addresses several major markets including:

• Enterprise local area networks (LANs), which use multi-mode fiber (MMF) to connect workgroup and backbone switches in floor-to-floor, building-to-building, and riser environments;
• Enterprise datacenters, which require minimal cost, power, and data latency for switch-to-switch, switch-to-server, and switch-to-storage connectivity; and
• Telecom wide area networks (WANs) utilizing single-mode fiber (SMF) for data transmission across distances up to several hundred kilometers in metro, regional and long haul environments.

ClariPhy is a member of, or participates in, the following industry organizations: IEEE 802.3 Working Group, Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), Ethernet Alliance, T11.2 Physical Variants Task Group, Fibre Channel Optical Working Group, and SFF-8431 (SFP+) Committee.