AMCC Introduces Industry's First Dual-Port Serial Backplane Transceiver With Boundary Scan for Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel Applications.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1999--

The First in a Series of Dual-Port Transceivers, The S2002

Provides Customers With Enhanced Board-Level Testing and Simplified

Board Design

Leading high-bandwidth silicon connectivity provider Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC) (Nasdaq:AMCC) introduced today the industry's first off-the-shelf, dual-channel serial backplane interconnect IC with boundary scan for use in Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel applications.

Fabricated in CMOS and the first in a series of dual-port transceivers, the S2002 scans I/O signals with IEEE 1149.1 specification-compliant JTAG implementation. In addition to enhancing customer board-level test capabilities with integrated boundary scan, the S2002's internally series-terminated TTL outputs and internally biased LVPECL I/O simplify board design and layout.

"The huge benefit of the boundary scan feature in the S2002 is to allow easier board testing for our end-customers," said Jon Siann, AMCC's marketing director for datacom products. "As the first in a series of dual-port transceivers incorporating this feature, the S2002 provides an invaluable solution to those looking for reduced power and enhanced real estate benefits."

AMCC's S2002 IC facilitates high-speed serial data transmission in a variety of applications, including Ethernet backbones, workstations, frame buffer, switched networks, data broadcast environments and proprietary extended backplanes. The S2002's highly flexible 0.98 to 1.3 GHz operating range makes it ideal for providing serial backplane connectivity in Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel systems, as well as proprietary point-to-point links. (Figure 1 illustrates a typical Gigabit Ethernet application using the S2002.) The chip provides two separate transceivers which are operated individually for a data capacity of greater than 2 Gbps.

Clock generation for the S2002 is performed by a flexible on-chip transmit Phased Lock Loop (PLL) which synthesizes a high-speed clock from a low-speed reference clock. The on-chip dual receive PLL's synchronize directly to incoming signals, while simultaneously re-timing and regenerating the data stream. The S2002 supports differential PECL compatible I/O for copper or fiber optic component interfaces which minimize crosstalk and maximize data integrity.

In addition to performing parallel-to serial and serial-to-parallel data conversion, each of the device's two bi-directional 8-bit channels provide complete clock generation/recovery and framing for block encoded data over fiber optic, twinax, or coax interfaces. Each channel also individually handles on-chip 8B/10B line encoding and decoding, with support for special data and control characters, which ensures balanced data transmission over the backplane.

The S2002 features multiple clocking options for simplification of overall system design and increased application flexibility. A low jitter reference is provided directly to the S2002 at either 1/10 or 1/20 the serial data rate, ensuring minimum jitter in the synthesized clock. A clock output is derived from the PLL and provided to the upstream circuit as a system clock, thus easing layout requirements.

AMCC's S2002 also features individual local loopback for performing system diagnostics and off-line testing of the interface to verify the integrity of the serial channel. The S2002 meets jitter generation of less than 192 ps and jitter tolerance of greater than 599 ps as specified in the IEEE 802.32 Gigabit Ethernet specification.

The S2002 dissipates 1.85W (0.625W per channel) of power from a single +3.3V supply, and comes in a compact 21mm x 21mm 156-pin TBGA package.

Pricing and Availability

Currently in production, AMCC's S2002 is priced at $30 each in quantities of 1000. The remaining S2002 family members are scheduled for release this quarter.

About AMCC

AMCC designs, develops, manufactures and markets high-performance, high-bandwidth silicon solutions for the world's communication infrastructure. The company utilizes a combination of high-frequency, mixed-signal design expertise and multiple silicon process technologies to offer IC products for the telecommunications market that address the SONET/SDH and ATM transmission standards and for the data communications markets that address the Gigabit Ethernet, ATM and Fibre Channel transmission standards.

AMCC's core technologies also address ATE and high-speed computing needs. AMCC's corporate headquarters and wafer fabrication facilities are located in San Diego. Sales and consulting engineering offices are located throughout the world.

For further information regarding AMCC and its products, write: Marketing Communication Department, AMCC, 6290 Sequence Drive, San Diego, California 92121-4358; or call 800/755-AMCC (800/755-2622) or 619/450-9333; or fax [phone]; or email [e-mail]; or visit our Web site at http://www.amcc.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, "The Factors That May Affect Future Results" detailed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 1999, and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially, as a result of such factors, from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Product photos, datasheets and application notes are available upon request. AMCC is a registered trademark of Applied Micro Circuits Corp.