Lucent Technologies Introduces IEEE-1394A Three-Port PHY Chip in Compact 64-Pin Package
Business Wire - May 11, 1998 10:00
%LUCENT-TECHNOLOGIES LU %PENNSYLVANIA %NEW-JERSEY %COMED %COMPUTERS %ELECTRONICS %PRODUCT V%BW P%BW
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ALLENTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1998--Lucent Technologies' Microelectronics Group today announced a new IEEE-1394A "FireWire" physical layer interface (PHY) chip that offers a smaller footprint than similar devices on the market, providing a powerful combination of small size and low power that helps reduce final system costs.
Design engineers can use this chip to create new applications for personal computers, workstations and consumer electronics. Because this IC dissipates less than 0.6 watts during normal operation, it can further increase design options for portable PCs or other compact, battery-powered systems.
The Lucent chip, called the FW803, is a three-port, IEEE-1394A-compliant physical layer interface integrated circuit housed in a 64-pin thin quad flat pack (TQFP) package.
"Although other manufacturers have been promoting larger, 80-pin packages for equivalent PHYs, we believe that the 64-pin TQFP option is a better packaging approach," said Mark Richman, IEEE 1394 product line manager at Lucent Technologies. "Placing this functionality in a smaller package with reduced power requirements makes a compelling solution that can be cost-effective for our customers and an attractive new approach for the industry at large."
The FW803 chip uses Bell Laboratories' advanced digital CMOS technology coupled with its extensive mixed-signal expertise to address several key challenges faced by manufacturers of PCs and consumer electronics products.
For customers facing a tight power budget, Lucent's device operates at less than 0.6 watts, nominal. Any of the its three ports can be individually put in low power mode under software control to reduce power consumption even further. In the power-down mode, the chip consumes less than 100 milliwatts.
For system designers, the compactness of the 64-pin TQFP footprint offers routing flexibility on the motherboard and additional space to pack more functions in a smaller area, for more cost-effective designs based on the most economical printed circuit board (PCB) design rules. The internal phase lock loop (pll) does not require external capacitors. In the final system design, this feature contributes to lower overall component count.
Lucent's FW803 chip supports the IEEE-1394A serial bus specification for high bit-rate communications of 400, 200 and 100 megabits-per-second between personal computers, peripherals and consumer electronics products such as video cameras.
"Lucent is a leading player in promoting and enabling 1394 solutions for the computer and consumer electronics markets," said Mark Kirstein, director of research, Computer Market Services, at In-Stat. "The markets for IEEE-1394 devices are poised to grow dramatically over the next five years into the hundreds of millions of units."
The Lucent FW803 will be sampling in June and will be generally available to the industry during the third quarter of 1998. Pricing in quantities of 10 thousand will be $5 per unit. Other volume pricing options will be available. Further specifications for the chip, including pinout information, are available on the Lucent web site at lucent.com. In addition to the chip, Lucent is making evaluation boards available to system designers.
The new chip is the first of several 1394A devices that Lucent will offer. Future offerings will include 1394A-OHCI host link and peripheral link controllers.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit our web site at lucent.com.
Lucent's Microelectronics Group designs and manufactures integrated circuits and optoelectronic components for the computer and communications industries. More information about the Microelectronics Group is available from its web site at lucent.com.
Acronyms used in this release:
PHY - physical layer interface TQFP - thin quad flat pack |
