Vitesse introduces scaleable multi-gigabit interconnect IC.

CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1997--Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:VTSS) Wednesday introduced the VSC7214, a multi-gigabit interconnect IC that is ideal for high bandwidth bus, backplane and system-to-system connections.

The VSC7214 provides a serialized, duplex aggregate transfer rate of 10Gbs over four channels and is easily configurable to either four 8-bit channels or a single 32-bit channel. A scaleable interconnect of arbitrarily high data width or throughput is easily achieved by synchronizing multiple VSC7214 ICs in parallel.

Backplane and bus architectures must either widen or increase in clock frequency to accommodate the demands for increased bandwidth. By serializing data, the VSC7214 reduces the complexity and cost of high bandwidth parallel bus and backplace architectures while reducing data skew and interference associated with parallel implementations. A single VSC7214 has the same data throughput as 160 signals clocked at 50Mb/s.

The VSC7214 consists of a quad 8-bit parallel-to-serial and serial-to-parallel 1.25Gb/s transceiver that can operate as either a fully synchronous 32-bit interface or as four independent 8-bit transceivers. Each channel can operate at a maximum data rate of eight 130MHz bits (1Gb/s) for an unencoded duplex aggregate data transfer rate of 8Gb/s.

The VSC7214 includes encoding-decoding to integrate a clock signal and establish error checking, resulting in a total data channel throughput of 10Gb/s over four duplex channels.

The VSC7214 also features bit, character, channel and word synchronization, as well as synchronization between multiple VSC7214s. This architecture utilizes elastic buffers which provide robust system deskewing. Elastic buffers are provided on all four receiver channels to realign the recovered data to a common clock and to other channels.

This unique feature automatically compensates for up to plus-or-minus 2 bit periods of channel-to-channel skew, thereby eliminating problems due to mismatches in trace or cable length. No external synchronization or buffering components are required.

"The level of synchronization from the bit level all the way up to multi-chip implementations makes this a unique chip," said John Schaefer, Vitesse product marketing manager. "Running multiple synchronous 1.25Gb/s channels places critical demands on timing and data skew. The VSC7214 incorporates a novel architecture which provides the user with a synchronized interface for serially transferring high bandwidth data and recovering it on the receive side."

The VSC7214 is derived from the transceiver technology implemented in Vitesse's VSC7125 Fibre Channel and VSC7135 Gigabit Ethernet transceivers. Innovative circuit techniques and the use of Vitesse's H-GaAs IV process has resulted in robust clock recovery and low jitter performance.

In the past, high speed transmitter/receiver functions were plagued by injection locking, noise and crosstalk problems. Vitesse avoided these problems by implementing both clock multiplication and clock/data recovery with a fully integrated phase lock loop (PLL), which replaces multiple PLLs common in slower and less reliable designs, Schaefer said. Integrating the PLL also eliminates the need for external filters or other components.

The VSC7214 operates off a single +3.3V supply and dissipates 4.3W. It is available in an industry standard 160 pin thermally enhanced PQFP package. Sampling is available now with pricing for 1,000 units at $98.

Vitesse Semiconductor is a leading supplier of high bandwidth communications integrated circuits. The company's products, consisting of standard, custom and semi-custom products are used in a wide variety of applications including telecommunications, data communications and automated test equipment and instrumentation. Vitesse has headquarters in Camarillo.

CONTACT: Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., Camarillo

Judy Calvin, 805/388-3700

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or

Ogilvy, Adams & Rinehart

Jerry Kalman, 310/996-0545

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