Patent ID: 7860400

Claim:
A serializer array having shared functionality, the serializer array comprising: a plurality of serializer blocks, each serializer block capable of receiving a plurality of parallel data channels and including: an input stage for recovering a clock signal and data from each of the plurality of parallel data channels received by a serializer block and providing a plurality of recovered parallel data channels as output; a first in first out array coupled to the input stage into which the plurality of recovered parallel data channels may be clocked; and a multiplexer coupled to the first in first out array for serializing the plurality of recovered parallel data channels; and a single clock multiplier unit for receiving a reference clock signal and supplying a multiplied clock signal to the first in first out array of each of the plurality of serializer blocks, the multiplied clock signal being used to read data out of the first in first out array of each serializer block at a data rate which is faster than a data rate of the received parallel data channels.