Pre‐emphasis transmitter (0.007 mm 2 , 8 Gbit/s, 0–14 dB) with improved data zero‐crossing accuracy in 65 nm CMOS

A pre‐emphasis transmitter with improved data zero‐crossing accuracy is described. It is achieved via data re‐synchronisation using a set of extended true single‐phase clock latches before output combining, constituting a robust, area‐ and power‐efficient solution. Fabricated in 65 nm CMOS, the full‐rate one‐tap pre‐emphasis transmitter measures a total jitter of 33.12 ps up to an 8 Gbit/s data rate, and 25.04 to 38.75 ps under a 0–14 dB reconfigurable pre‐emphasis range. The achieved output swing is as large as 550 mV pp , and the active area is just 0.007 mm 2 .