Quad DDR Transceiver Satisfies Gigabit Ethernet Apps

Designed as a low-cost transceiver for Gigabit Ethernet applications, the VSC7185 is a quad 5-bit Dual Data Rate (DDR) transceiver. Each of its four transmitters accept a 10-bit word input on a 5-bit bus using both clock transitions and serializes the data for transmission. Each of the four receivers performs the reverse upon the serially received data. The IC is well suited for manufacturers of network switches, routers, host adapters, stackable and backplane interconnection equipment and other high-density system architectures that require compliance to IEEE 802.3z Gigabit Ethernet specs. The four 5-bit SSTL-2 transmit and receive data parallel bus interfaces on the chip reduce the pins required for ASIC connection by 50% when compared to 10-bit transceivers, it's claimed. The transceiver has a typical random jitter of 5 ps_rms and typical deterministic jitter of 35 ps peak-to-peak. Available in a 208-pin, 23-mm BGA package, pricing is less than $30 each/1,000.