PHY Transceiver operates over 100 m of UTP cable.
Press Release Summary:
Fabricated in 65 nm CMOS process technology, Model BCM8481 supports IEEE 802.3 10GBASE-T operation over 100 m of Category 6A unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or Category 7 cables. Single-chip solution supports auto-negotiation between 4 different Ethernet speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbps and 10 Gbps. DSP-based architecture combines front-end with ADCs, adaptive equalizers, PLLs, line drivers, LDPC encoders and decoders, echo and crosstalk cancellers, and XAUI interface.
Original Press Release:
Broadcom Drives Transition to 10 Gigabit Ethernet with Industry's First Quad Speed 65nm 10GBASE-T Transceiver to Operate over 100 Meters of UTP Cable
New Single-Chip Solution Completes Broadcom's End-to-End 10GbE Portfolio, Extending Its Leadership in 10GbE Products
LAS VEGAS, April 28 /- Interop 2008 -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced a new 65 nanometer (nm) 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) physical layer (PHY) transceiver to support IEEE 802.3 10GBASE-T operation over 100 meters of Category 6A unshielded twisted pair (UTP) or Category 7 cables. Fabricated in 65nm CMOS process technology, the new device is a single-chip/single-die solution, versus competitive solutions that require multiple chips. The Broadcom(R) 10GBASE-T PHY is the only device in the industry to support auto-negotiation between four different Ethernet speeds (10/100/1000 Megabits per second and 10 Gigabits per second), enabling compatibility with the installed base of Ethernet technology.
The 10GbE-over-copper market is poised to grow substantially over the coming years since it delivers the higher bandwidth needed to support the ongoing convergence of networking, high performance computing and storage traffic in the enterprise and data center. The 10GbE market is positioned for significant growth driven by the deployment of Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop. These applications require upstream devices that have a higher throughput capability, similar to the converged data center, where server connectivity and storage applications are currently migrating to 10GbE speeds.
To address this market requirement, Broadcom today announces the BCM8481 10GBASE-T transceiver, a complete PHY solution operating over 100 meters of UTP cables. This fully integrated digital signal processor (DSP)-based architecture combines front-end with analog-to-digital converters, adaptive equalizers, phased locked loops, line drivers, low density parity check (LDPC) encoders and decoders, echo and crosstalk cancellers, and the industry standard XAUI interface. With today's BCM8481 announcement, Broadcom further extends its comprehensive portfolio of field proven and complete end-to-end 10GbE solutions featuring switching products, transceivers, controllers and SerDes (serializers/deserializers).
"Broadcom is accelerating the industry transition to 10GbE with highly integrated, cost effective, low power Ethernet transceiver solutions," said Kevin Brown, Senior Director and General Manager of Broadcom's PHY line of business. "The BCM8481 complements our 10GbE controller and switch products and completes our portfolio of 10GbE physical layer products for fiber, backplane, twin-axial copper and now UTP copper cables. We believe that 10GBASE-T products that are also interoperable with 1000BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, and even 10BASE-T are ideal for wide deployment of the technology."
Technical Information
The BCM8481 PHY transceiver is optimized to enable switch, controller and other general 10GbE connectivity applications since it supports the 4-lane 3.125 Gbps XAUI interface that allows connectivity to 10GbE media access controllers. One lane of the 4-lane XAUI interface is reserved to support the SGMII interface and lower speed 10/100/1000BASE-T operations.
The product also includes a pass-through XAUI interface mode that allows optional connectivity to a fiber optic module. Switching between copper and fiber media can be accomplished either automatically or through software control. Additionally, the BCM8481 monitors copper link and fiber detect status, and based on priorities set at initialization, automatically swaps either copper traffic or fiber traffic to the media access controller interface.
Industry's Most Comprehensive 10 Gigabit PHY Portfolio
The new BCM8481 10GBASE-T PHY and BCM8073 10GBASE-KR PHY (also announced today) secure Broadcom's position as the only silicon provider in the industry with a complete line of 10G PHY products supporting backplane, twisted pair and optical front panel applications. 10G optical front panel products include the BCM8726, BCM8706, BCM8724 and BCM8705. Broadcom's comprehensive product portfolio includes support for all 10G PHY standards: 10GBASE-T, 10GBASE-KR, 10GBASE-LRM, 10GBASE-SR/LR and 10GBASE-ER/ZR.
Green by Design
Broadcom and its foundry partners are leveraging today's most advanced lithographic node for manufacturing semiconductors. By designing solutions in 65nm process technology, Broadcom is able to provide significant environmental benefits over competitive solutions in 90nm and 130nm processes by enabling lower power consumption, smaller size and higher yields while providing higher levels of integration that result in fewer components. Additionally, Broadcom supports the current industry initiatives to remove lead (Pb) and other hazardous materials, such as halogens like bromide and chlorine, from all products. With the depth and breadth of Broadcom's advanced portfolio of market-proven IP, the company is able to drive innovative new products to market while reducing the impact on human health and the environment.
Availability and Pricing
The BCM8481 10GBASE-T PHY transceiver is sampling to early access customers. Pricing is available upon request.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom(R) products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 2,600 U.S. and 1,200 foreign patents, more than 7,450 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at http://www.broadcom.com/.
Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Corporate Communications, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com
Web site: http://www.broadcom.com/
