Akros Announces an Integrated 30W Powered Device (PD) PWM Controller for the Emerging PoE Plus Applications.

Expanding the AS1100 Family with AS1130 that Provides 87 Percent Efficient, 30W DC-DC Converter, to Power the Emerging High Power Network Attached Appliances

FOLSOM, Calif. -- Akros Silicon, Inc. today announced the availability of its AS1130 device, an extension to its family of Power over Ethernet (PoE) Powered Device (PD) controllers. The AS1130 provides the same small footprint and high integration as its predecessors, the AS1113 and AS1124. In addition, the new device provides up to 30W power delivery on the network cable, allowing for the deployment of high-end security cameras and wireless LAN access points.

The first version of the POE specification, IEEE 802.3af, was released in 2003 and provides sufficient power delivery on the network cable to realize Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, basic security cameras and wireless access points (WAP). The success of this first PoE standard has set the stage for remotely powering more sophisticated applications. Pan, Tilt, Zoom (PTZ) Video security cameras, 802.11n wireless LAN access points and remotely powered and controlled switching and routing appliances require higher power than the 13W offered by the 802.3af standard. This prompted the IEEE to develop the 802.3at standard, which is due for letter ballot approval in 2008. The 802.3at standard defines power delivery of up to 30W on an Ethernet Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable. The AS1130 has been designed to deliver these power levels and meet the emerging 802.3at standards requirements.

"Despite the 802.3at standard being at least a year from final ratification, our research indicates that OEMs are already evaluating and introducing designs based on some version of high powered PoE. By making the AS1130 available to the broader market, Akros has positioned itself to take advantage of the growing number of OEMs not willing to wait for 802.3at ratification," said Brian Greenberg, senior analyst at Venture Development Corporation (VDC). "The availability of enabling PoE technologies like the AS1130 will open the doors to applications such as multi-band WAPs, RFID readers and other devices that were not previously able to exist in an 802.3af PoE environment."

Akros' innovative silicon solutions, built on standard HV CMOS technology allows for a highly integrated design that includes the PoE PD controller, low Rds hot swap MOSFET and a DC-DC controller. This level of integration removes approximately 18 external components from the application circuit. The low part count provides for a greater than 50 percent reduction it the PCB layout footprint and a significant BOM cost savings compared to competing solutions. The short interconnect to the RJ-45 jack and the controlled Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) output waveform on the DC-DC controller are both key in reducing radiated emissions and meeting industry Electromagnetic Compliance (EMC) requirements.

The AS1130's high level of integration provides significant reliability, protection advantages and simplifies the PoE PD design. The device provides seamless support for local power and over temperature protection. Additionally, pin compatibility between the AS1113, AS1124 and AS1130 allows the designer to support multiple power levels without a complete redesign of the system PCB. Integrating these components also substantially reduces board-to-board variation and increases overall manufacturability and provides the customer with time to market advantage.

The AS1130 also provides advanced power management through integration of a hot-swap switch with a programmable maximum current limit of 800 mA. The DC-DC architecture is a current mode converter which can be configured with external component changes for either fly-back, forward, or buck topologies to support non-isolated or isolated switching topologies. The AS1130 device includes a series of platform tested circuit capabilities to assist system designers in providing solutions that meet or exceed the current regulatory and extreme environmental usages. Specifically, the device supports the "two finger classification" and is backward compatible to current 802.3af customer needs. Akros offers optimized yet flexible silicon solution enabling its customers to bring to market higher performance PoE PD products with low cost and small footprint.

The AS1130 is fully integrated and architected at a system level to provide the following features:

* Fully supports IEEE[R] Std. 802.3af-2003 and supports pre-standard IEEE[R] Std. 802.3at-2006 power needs

* Meets IEC 61000-4-2/3/4/5/6 and IEC 60950 requirements for Surge, EMI and Isolation

* Integrated surge protection for board level surge meets > 16.5kV air discharge (IEC61000-4-2), > 8kV contact discharge (IEC61000-4-2) and > 6kV Surge (IEC61000-4-5)

* Integrated DC-DC converter with reduced EM emission for CISPR22/FCC part 15 Class B applications

* Programmable DC current limit up to 800mA

* Provides extended classification levels for higher power PD applications (pre 802.3at compliant)

* Provides seamless support for local power

* Over temperature protection

In its most recent 5-year forecast, Dell'Oro Group predicts that PoE shipments will grow from 32M ports in 2006 to 145M ports in 2011.

"The AS1130 is the industry's first footprint compatible, fully scalable and thermally robust PD/PWM controller to address the entire range of networked applications to 30W. This compact, highly integrated PD/PWM controller is footprint compatible with AS1113 and AS1124 meets 802.3af and pre-802.3at standards," said Ven Shan, vice president of marketing, Akros Silicon. "The device's flexible current mode architecture allows multiple AS1130's ICs to be synchronized for load sharing enabling much higher power levels to 60W to address the needs of fast growing high power Ethernet appliances that are powered by the networks."

AS1130 is available in a 20-pin QFN, Reduction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) compliant, and package. The device is priced at $1.66 for 1kU quantity.

About Akros Silicon

Headquartered in Folsom, California, Akros Silicon (Akros is a Greek word for "edge") is a leading provider of highly differentiated system-level integrated circuits that provide advanced power management to the edge of the network. Akros Silicon's disruptive silicon technology enables large scale deployment of network-attached appliances, such as VoIP phones, wireless LAN access points, RFID tag readers, point-of-sale terminals, networked cameras, remote access and home-networked systems--accelerating the convergence of data, audio, and video applications. For more information, visit http://www.akrossilicon.com