Product category:
Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: Zarlink Semiconductor | Subject: ZL50073
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 16 January 2004
TDM devices claim new performance
standards
Zarlink developed its 32K ZL50073 TDM switch family to meet the exacting requirements of high-bandwidth, wired and wireless networking equipment.
Zarlink developed its 32K ZL50073 TDM switch family to meet the exacting requirements of high-bandwidth, wired and wireless networking equipment - such as media gateways, wireless basestations, and remote access concentrators - that carry converged voice, data and multimedia services Customers are also demanding higher-performance TDM devices to upgrade the Class 4/Class 5 central office switches that still dominate today's carrier networks
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"The ZL50073 family is the only TDM switch platform that delivers a complete mix of features for next-generation converged and wireless traffic, as well as basic voice services", said Kam Aite, Product Line Marketing Manager, TDM/TSI Switching, Zarlink Semiconductor.
Zarlink's four-device ZL50073 family provides the industry's most flexible and cost-effective centralised switching approach for high-bandwidth voice and data equipment.
The family's premier ZL50073 switch doubles the capabilities of competing high-density devices, offering 128 input and 128 output streams for interfacing to peripheral components and different data rates up to 64Mbit/s.
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Global equipment manufacturers are currently evaluating the ZL50073 switch family for wireless and wired access media gateways, and central office switches supporting traditional voice services.
With unmatched integrated features, the ZL50073 family boosts the performance of high-bandwidth TDM equipment while also lowering board-level design cost and complexity.
The devices include programmable data rate conversion circuitry, permitting them to directly transmit information between peripheral components without requiring intermediary FPGAs, glue logic or other external circuitry that increases board complexity and cost.
Zarlink's patented rate conversion technology provides the industry's most flexible bandwidth allocation capability, allowing designers to select data rates on a per group of two-stream or four-stream basis.
In comparison, competing devices offer more limited per group of eight-stream datarate selection.
The ZL50073 family includes the only 32K TDM devices with integrated per channel A-law/u-law conversion circuitry, eliminating the need for external FPGAs or glue logic to convert between voice standards.
The devices also offer integrated BER (bit error rate) testing circuits - with individual receivers and transmitters - which conform to the ITU-T0.151 standard.
This allows designers to simultaneously test all input/output streams.
Competing devices require external test equipment, and can only test on a time-consuming channel-by-channel basis.
The ZL50073 TDM switching family achieves exceptional jitter tolerance, permitting the switches to be timed directly from the backplane's clock and frame pulses.
This saves design cost and effort by eliminating the need for intermediary chips such as CPLDs and FPGAs.
If reference switching or holdover functionality is required, high jitter tolerance means the designer can choose from a range of low-cost digital PLLs.
The ZL50073 devices offer three clock inputs accepting selectable frequencies of 8, 16, 32 or 64MHz.
Other commercial high-density TDM devices provide only a 32MHz clock input, severely limiting a designer's options when choosing a timing device.
In addition, Zarlink's new TDM switches are the industry's only high-density devices featuring four frequency selectable output clocks and frame pulses, providing designers with the flexibility to drive a variety of peripheral TDM components or circuits.
Zarlink's high-density TDM switching family consists of three 32,768 channel devices, and one 24,576 channel device - the industry's only 24K switch.
A range of device options enables engineers to select the features they need to cost-effectively support their designs.
The ZL50073 switch is the world's most advanced 32K device.
The ZL50074 device is a 32K switch with features optimised for price-sensitive applications.
The ZL50073/74 both offer 128 input and 128 output streams.
The 32K ZL50075 switch has 64 input and 64 output streams, integrated A-law/u-law conversion and BER testing, and the industry's highest granularity with per group of two-stream rate conversion.
The ZL50070 switch is a richly featured 24K device with 96 input and 96 output streams.
Zarlink continues to evolve its TDM switching line.
Future developments will offer improved system-level integration for both low- and high-density devices.
The ZL50073 family is in volume production, and offered in a variety of size and packaging options.
All pricing is 1000-off.
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