4timing.com, April 2003

TI Claiming Design Wins for China Basestations

Texas Instruments, Inc. announced that its TMS320C64x digital signal processor has been designed into a mobile communications basestations from the Information and Communication division of Siemens AG that support the Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) standard.   TD-SCDMA is being developed as a third generation (3G) mobile communications standard for deployment initially in China.  The Siemens 3G-based basestations are already in field trials in China and deployments with Chinese operators are expected to start at the end of 2003, TI said.

In October 2002, China's Ministry of Information Industry allocated 155 MHz of spectrum for use by TD-SCDMA.  The standard features flexible up and downlink data rates up to 2-Mbit/s and coverage up to 40-kilometers and the standard is claimed to have spectral efficiency superior to other 3G standards.

Switch and Router from the Same Architecture

Foundry has unveiled a new architecture of full-duplex 40-Gbit/second in future line cards.  The 80 million-transistor cross point switching ASICs offer a port-to-port switching latency of less than 10 microseconds.  The architecture has three separate switching-fabric backplanes: a 640-Gbit/s backplane fabric for data path operations, a 640-Gbit/s local switching fabric for operations between switching cards and a 20-Gbit/s management fabric for operations on the control plane.

The first system to implement the architecture is the BigIron MG8, with a capacity of 1.28 terabits/s in a single chassis and 4 Tbits/s in a multichassis rack.  Low-power line cards and Xenpak optical modules push system capacity to thirty-two 10-Gbit Ethernet ports per system, or 96 ports/rack.  Each port can handle up to 64,000 Layer 2 or 3 entries.   The MG8 is designed for redundancy and high availability, incorporating redundant power supplies and control-plane management modules, and hot-pluggable interface modules. Fault tolerance is provided at both Layers 2 and 3 using Foundry's Metro Ring Protocol and Virtual Switch Redundancy Protocol.

New Processors Introduced by Xelerated Technology

Xelerated Technology is shifting from its Sonet-only focus toward a network processor product line that supports both Sonet and Gigabit Ethernet operation.  It just unveils two processor, the X10q-e and X10q-m, optimized for Ethernet designs and it will phase out two lower-density Sonet parts—the X10s and X10d.   Like the original X10q, which has now been renamed the X10q-w, the X10q-e and X10q-m provide four SPI 4.2-enabled receive paths, four SPI 4.2-enabled transmit paths, and a programmable data path.  The processors also offer four look-aside interfaces for linking up with SRAMs, ternary content-addressable memories (TCAMs) or co-processors.  Four on-chip engines are also provided for metering, hashing functions, TCAM operations and counting.

The X10q-e is targeted solely at Ethernet designs and delivers a 60-Mpps packet rate and a 6.5-W power dissipation figure. The X10q-m, on the other hand, can be employed in Ethernet or Sonet designs and delivers a 90-Mpps packet rate and a 10-W dissipation figure. The X10q-w, which sports a 100-Mpps packet rate and 11-W power dissipation figure, will remain focused at the Sonet market. All three parts are developed in a 0.13-micron process.

PCI A/D Board Streams at 14-Bit Resolution

While most PCI bus computer boards with multiple analog input channels use a single overworked A/D converter and an analog multiplexer, Datel's 32-channel PCI-417N Series board, for desktop computers, uses an A/D converter for each channel. Beside the increase in total system speed, the PCI-417N samples all channels exactly in parallel at rates up to 80 kHz per channel (5.12 Megabyte/second aggregate rate).  This concurrent A/D sampling enables all kinds of time-correlated applications such as medical ultrasound or in digital signal processing sonar or FFT engine testing.  Each input A/D converter digitizes to 14-bit resolution, lowering system noise and increasing system dynamic range.  Full scale input voltage ranges of ±5V or ±10V are selectable per channel.  An on-board A/D memory system prevents sample loss when streaming very large sample blocks to host disk or network.

Three-Wire Digital Thermometer and Thermostat

Dallas Semiconductor has introduced its DS1626 three-wire digital thermometer and thermostat.  It is said to be the first three-wire ±0.5°C thermometer and standalone thermostat available in a Micro-SOP package, making it appropriate for applications that need high precision in a limited amount of space.  The DS1626 thermometer provides 9-, 10-, 11- or 12-bit digital temperature readings over a 55°C to +125°C range, with ±0.5°C accuracy over a 0°C to +70°C range.  It has thermostat functionality with nonvolatile (EEPROM) user-defined trip points that allow the user to customize the threshold temperature and output hysteresis.  The DS1626 acts as a stand-alone thermostat, automatically measuring temperature upon power-up and operating without processor or user intervention.  The DS1626 communicates through a standard three-wire serial interface.

VDSL Filter Module Replaces 20 Individual Discrete Components

Pulse has introduced a family of filter modules, part numbers BX4037, BX4038, BX4039 and BX4040, for Very high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) chipsets.  Twenty individual discrete components can be replaced with one Pulse VDSL module.  The multi-functioning modules include a high-pass filter, a hybrid transformer, transmit (TX) and receive (RX) separation filter and a common mode choke.  The modules meet IEC950 supplementary insulation requirements with what is said to be the industry's most compact footprint.  Line return loss is between 4.1 MHz and 7.9 MHz, 12 dB for the modules. The isolation voltage is rated at 1,500 Vrms; line impedance is rated at 120 Ω; TX impedance at 40 Ω and RX impedance at 270 Ω.  Their operating temperature range of 40°C to +85°C ensures stability with minimum drift under a wide range of conditions.

Low Profile SMD Power Inductor

Renco Electronics has announced the RL-7000 Series SMT power inductor.  It is just under 1 mm high, and it has what is said to be the smallest possible footprint of 4.2 mm × 6.4 mm.  This patented design uses ferrite shielding for complete suppression of EMI along with up to 2.5A of saturation current handling.  This inductor series is suitable for use in mobile phones, notebook computers, PC cards, PDAs and other handheld devices. The operating temperature range is 40°C to +85°C.