Communications
Micrel Slashes 5 Port Switch-On-a-Chip Power Consumption In Half
Micrel launched the KSZ8895/8875/8864 series. The devices are low-power, highly integrated, 4/5-port Layer-2 switch-on-a-chip ICs. Leveraging Micrel’s latest green physical transceiver and switch technology, the product family achieves a 50 percent reduction in power consumption compared to the previous generation. Meeting the increasing demands for Ethernet connectivity in consumer and industrial applications, the family features advanced power management and sophisticated Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities. Pricing and samples are available upon inquiry with volume production starting in Q1, 2011.
“TSophisticated QoS features such as tag and port-based VLAN support and IPv6 priority classification make these devices ideal for today’s most demanding IP content based applications in the digital home; IPTV, IP-STB (set top box), VoIP (voice over IP), residential gateways and GPON. The low emissions and Micrel’s signature high reliability and quality also make these devices suitable for connectivity applications in the fast growing industrial automation and automotive markets.
The devices support a single 3.3V power supply with an internal 1.2V LDO, with options for 3.3V, 2.5V or 1.8V IO voltages. Further power savings are supported by advanced power management, including the device’s “Energy Detect Power Down” mode. This mode is activated when the cable is unplugged, and the “slow oscillator” mode is activated when the device is not in use.
The product family provides flexible host processor and PHY interfacing via MII or RMII. Flexibility is also provided in terms of copper or fiber media interfaces. On-chip termination, and internal generation of the 50MHz RMII clock further reduces bill of materials cost and enables a small package size (64-pin QFN for KSZ8864RMN).