90nm repeater supports PCIe 2.0, Infiniband

The GN1406 is a 90nm chip capable of propagating error-free PCIe 2.0 signals at speeds of 5GT/s at distances of 30m in copper cable chassis-to-chassis interconnect applications, and more than 60-inches of standard FR-4 in backplane applications.

To overcome the challenges associated with longer distance transmission, each independent, digitally-controlled channel of the GN1406 features an input equalizer, capable of compensating for transmission losses of up to 24dB, followed by a CDR that, in turn, feeds a large output voltage swing driver with up to 20dB of de-emphasis.

The GN1406 is typically incorporated into the signal path between upstream and downstream ASICs, ASSPs or FPGAs. As a result, the device removes the input jitter tolerance burden from the ASIC receiver and allows ASIC designers to focus on the core function of the ASIC rather than the analog performance of its I/O. Similarly, system board designers can also benefit from the GN1406 since board-level performance can be guaranteed at the compliance point.

Pricing is at $9.50 in 10K quantity volumes. Product is sampling with full production slated for Q3 08.

- Ismini Scouras
eeProductCenter