Repeaters/retimers extend FR-4 signal reach beyond 50 inches at 10-Gbps

Texas Instruments Inc. has started to sample 10 signal conditioners designed to drive high-speed interface standards such as 10G/40G/100G Ethernet, 10G-KR (802.3ap), InfiniBand, Fibre Channel and CPRI.

According to TI, the 10 signal conditioners deliver the highest signal reach performance at less than 6-mW per gigabit.to combat signal impairments caused by insertion loss, jitter, reflections and crosstalk in high-speed enterprise servers, routers and switches.

Key highlights of the DS1xxDF410, DS1xxRT410 and DS100KRxxx families:

• Extend reach to exceed 50+ inches of FR-4 backplane or 20 meters of 26-AWG copper cable
     o 36-dB input EQ and 12-dB output de-emphasis (DE).
     o Multi-tap decision feedback equalizer (DFE).
     o Clock and data recovery (CDR) with internal clock synthesis.
     o Repeaters consume 65-mW per channel; retimers with CDR consume 150-mW per channel.

• Reduce bill of materials (BOM) cost and simplify system design
     o Fully adaptive EQ simplifies link tuning.
     o Internal clock synthesis avoids the need for an external reference clock.
     o Built-in eye monitor and PRBS generator simplifies system debug.
     o Single power supply without the need for external RF chokes.

Pricing: Suggested retail pricing for these 10 ICs ranges from $9.95 to $18 in 1,000-unit quantities.

Availability: Sampling now, with volume production scheduled for late first quarter 2012.

For datasheets and video:  Click here.