Chipworks Investigates Marvell's Gigabit Ethernet Over Copper Transceiver Technology: Chipworks to Deliver Findings Inside New Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver From Marvell.Business Editors OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2001 Chipworks Inc., a world-class leading supplier of reverse engineering services for the semiconductor and electronics market, comments on the technical innovation of the Marvell 1GHz Ethernet Transceiver device. Discovered on the Intel gigabit Network Interface Card, the part is currently under analysis and complete findings will be disclosed in a Circuit Analysis Report to be released in June 2001. The Marvell device is the first fully integrated PHY See physical layer and physical. transceiver fabricated fab·ri·cate tr.v. fab·ri·cat·ed, fab·ri·cat·ing, fab·ri·cates 1. To make; create. 2. To construct by combining or assembling diverse, typically standardized parts: using 0.18 micron process technology. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Julia Elvidge, Chipworks' vice president of marketing and sales, "the Marvell 1 GHz Ethernet Transceiver is 10/100/1000-BASE-T IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 802.3 compliant and supports GMII GMII Gigabit Media Independent Interface and MII 1. (body) MII - A consortium of Microsoft, IBM, and Intel. 2. (storage) MII - A broadcast component video tape format licensed by Panasonic. interfaces. It is manufactured in 0.18 microns CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. technology and uses advanced mixed signal and DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive techniques. The device also includes four million logic gates on a single device. Each transceiver interfaces to four twisted-pair cables for a total of 16 channels. The device also enables the use of 'stacked' RJ45 modules on the device, making it possible to support 48 ports per line card." "What makes this chip so important is that it is the first high-speed circuit implementation able to achieve 1GHz speed on and off the chip", stated Ms. Elvidge. Marvell has clearly emerged as the key provider of gigabit PHY technology giving companies like Broadcom a serious run for their money. Marvell is demonstrating an ongoing ability to deliver physically compact, low-gear Gig-E PHYs and are positioned to capture a significant share of the communications IC market. "The Marvell 1GHz Ethernet Transceiver signifies a major breakthrough for the Gigabit Ethernet An Ethernet standard that transmits at 1 Gbps. Used mostly to connect high-end workstations and servers as well as for network backbones, Gigabit Ethernet transmits full duplex from point to point using switches and half duplex in a shared environment (CSMA/CD) using a hub. market. The race to develop transceivers for the Gigabit Ethernet over existing copper networks was between Broadcom, then market leader, National Semiconductor, and Marvell. Marvell announced its transceiver in July 2000, ahead of its competition," confirmed Ms. Elvidge. About Chipworks Inc. Chipworks is an internationally recognized technical services company that analyzes the circuitry and physical composition of semiconductor chips and electronics systems for applications in intellectual property licensing, competitive study, and reliability assurance. Chipworks' technical experts use sophisticated lab facilities and a rich library of in-house semiconductor data to conduct detailed analyses of a wide selection of chip types. Chipworks develops high value, meticulously researched, on time reports presented in a format that is easy to understand and tailored to customer needs. Chipworks exports more than 95% of its business to semiconductor manufacturers and users worldwide. Clients use our services to keep informed of product innovations and to support their intellectual property initiatives in semiconductor technology. Chipworks can be visited via the Internet at www.chipworks.com. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion