Chip Set Sends Power Over Ethernet Cables

May 12, 2003

Two chips handle both ends of Ethernet cable to implement dc power transmission.

A new IC family lets designers share data and dc power on the same Ethernet cable. Meeting all of the IEEE 802.3af standard's requirements, Texas Instruments' TPS2370 and TPS2383 chips can deliver or source dc power over the same data lines used in the Ethernet cable. This lowers costs and simplifies setup for voice-over-Internet-protocol telephones, wireless access points, point-of-sale terminals, and other network-connected devices.

The TPS2370's power interface switch manages discovery, classification, and delivery of dc power to a device over the Ethernet twisted-pair cable. A companion chip, the TPS2383 power-sourcing equipment power manager, can independently manage power for up to eight Ethernet ports.

The TPS2370 offers an integrated solution for all necessary detection, classification, undervoltage lockout, inrush current limiting, and switch FET control. On the TPS-2383, an I²C interface reads and writes data to various registers to control all of the chip's operations. With its five selection pins, the chip can address up to 32 devices as well as individually control and monitor up to 256 Ethernet ports from a single master I²C controller.

Samples of both the TPS2370 and TPS2383 are now available. Pricing is $1.75 and $7.00, respectively, in lots of 1000 units.

Texas Instruments Inc.
www.power.ti.com
(800) 477-8924, ext. 4500

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About the Author

Dave Bursky | Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.