Backplane transceiver has scope for verification

Multirate backplane transceiver incorporates the latest clock-data recovery (CDR) techniques and embeds an oscilloscope function into the receiver of input CDR circuits.

The VSC3406 from Vitesse Semiconductor is a 6.375Gbit/s multirate backplane transceiver that incorporates the latest clock-data recovery (CDR) techniques and signal integrity toolset for backplane and interconnect design.

The VSC3406 is the first in a family of CDR products to feature Vitesse's new VScope waveform viewing technology that embeds an oscilloscope function into the receiver of input CDR circuits.

This comprehensive signal integrity solution gives engineers a single device that enables both a high-speed transceiver function and verification mechanism.

"Embedded oscilloscope functionality can potentially lower network testing and maintenance costs, an ongoing concern for anyone who manages a network", says Aileen Arcilla, Senior Analyst - Semiconductors: Networking, Broadband and Storage for International Data Corporation.

"Providing this means of remote diagnostic capability can offer telecom carriers and data centre managers a more direct way to verify signal integrity within the data path itself and take corrective action in a timelier manner".

As the most complete 6Gbit/s backplane signal integrity solution available to date, the VSC3406 6.375Gbit/s multirate multifunction backplane transceiver has six high-speed differential transmit and receive interfaces, complete with on-chip termination ideal for interfacing to a variety of media such as PCB traces, cables or optoelectronic devices connected to optical fibre.

The VSC3406 features a 2-to-1 rate multiplier mode that allows data "multiplication" up to 6.375Gbit/s, doubling bandwidth over existing backplanes.

A typical application includes XAUI rate-doubling for efficient transmission in high-speed backplanes over half the number of wires.

Coupled with the signal equalisation function, these rate multiplier modes can be used to run double and quadruple the amount of bandwidth over existing copper traces.

This gives OEMs the ability to field-upgrade equipment to handle greater bandwidth by upgrading line cards and switch cards in existing equipment.

"Vitesse is building on many years of research, product developments, customer requirements, and patented innovations with this new solution for signal integrity", says Juan Garza, Product Marketing Manager for Signal Integrity products at Vitesse.

"The result is the VSC3406: a state-of-the-art tool for enabling next-generation Ethernet and networking systems".

"By integrating our VScope technology into the device, a new remote diagnostic capability that contributes to a more reliable network for telecommunications carriers and data centre managers is now available for the first time".

With a single reference clock input, the VSC3406 achieves highly advanced operations at any datarate between 0.125 and 6.375Gbit/s.

The multirate CDR of the VSC3406 makes it ideally suited for next-generation backplanes and communication equipment running a variety of protocols, including Gigabit Ethernet, XAUI, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Serial ATA (SATA) and PCI Express (PCIe).

A fully nonblocking multicast architecture allows the VSC3406 to be user-configured via a simple, two-wire serial interface for a broad range of signal conditioner, retimer, crossbar or rate multiplication applications.

A high degree of signal integrity is achieved by means of configurable input and output equalisation.

Cost-effectiveness is realised because engineers can use one product across multiple applications and platforms allowing for maximum re-use and research and development savings.

General samples of VSC3406 devices will be available in the second quarter of 2008.

The VSC3406 is priced at US $60 in volume quantities and is available in an 81-pin 10 x 10mm FCBGA package.

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