TDK semiconductor ports popular PHY to new process

TDK Semiconductor has extended the availability of its 78Q2120 Ethernet transceiver line, and the availability of the customer designs that are based upon it, by porting the device to a new semiconductor process.
TDK's original design was in BiCMOS, which allowed it to use less power than what was available in the market then, and to maintain a quality rating of 99.99%. The new 78Q2120C is produced using a contemporary CMOS process that uses less power and is expected to improve the quality rating.
The 78Q2120C series transceivers are used to connect desktops, laptops, set-top boxes, game consoles and any other device that needs an Ethernet connection. Products that were designed to use older versions of the 2120 can be upgraded to use the newer technology without significant investment, re-engineering or re-qualification of the transceiver.
The 78Q2120C includes an integrated media independent interface, ENDECs, scrambler/ descrambler, dual-speed clock recovery, and auto-negotiation functions. The transmitter includes an on-chip pulse-shaper and a low-power line driver. The receiver has an adaptive equalizer and a baseline restoration circuit required for accurate clock and data recovery. The transceiver interfaces to CAT-5 or CAT-3 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling, and is connected to the line media via 1:1 isolation transformers. No external filter is required. The device is suited for applications requiring low power consumption (less than 300mW), long cable lengths, or non-CAT-5 line segments. The 78Q2120C costs about US$4 (1000).
TDK Semiconductor
Fax 1-831-429-6920
www.tdksemiconductor.com
Enter No. 355