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Product Name: Chip takes aim at Ethernet devices

Product Description

San Jose, Calif. -- Freescale Semiconductor Inc. is rolling out its first chip today for end devices that draw their power from an Ethernet line. The MCZ34670 is geared to undercut competitors like Linear Technology Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. by offering lower prices, thanks to advanced process technology. Freescale has been supplying 12-port chips with integrated MOSFETs to hub and router makers who want to deliver power-over-Ethernet (PoE) for two or more years now. Cisco estimates as many as 60 percent of its desktop Ethernet hubs and switches now support PoE, a figure that could rise to 95 percent by 2008, the Ethernet giant believes. A class of so-called midspan devices has already emerged that adds power signals to Ethernet lines emerging from existing hubs and switches. The simplified devices made by companies like Linksys and NetGear can cost as little as $100 for a four-port unit. As the network gear gains traction, Freescale sees a growing opportunity to deliver chips for end devices like voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, wireless access points and network security cameras that sip their power from a data line. "We didn't put a lot of emphasis on this in the beginning, but we think the market is ripe for it now," said Andy Khayat, a marketing manager in Freescale's power-management and motor control group. Market watcher Venture Development Corp. predicts that PoE devices will grow from an estimated 45 million shipped in 2005 to as many as 152 million in 2008. The biggest slice of that market is in VoIP phones, which could expand from 6 million to 21 million units over the same period. The problem is that the IEEE802.3af-2003 standard for PoE defines a pretty tight set of features, making it difficult to distinguish one device chip from another. "The chips are pretty much me-too products. Our chip is pretty much the same as the competitors', thanks to the standard," Khayat said. "The bad thing is we wind up having a lot of competition, but it's good for OEM customers," he added. To stand out, Freescale makes its parts in 250-nanometer BiCMOS technology, compared with many competitors' 350-nm process. The process edge translates into a die that is about 30 percent smaller than that of its rivals, and that translates into a published price of $2.08 in 10,000-unit quantities. The chips are available in production quantities now. Engineers are already upgrading the standard to a so-called PoE Plus. They hope to push the 15-watt, 48-V standard to 24 to 30 W in a new IEEE group. Cisco, Broadcom, Freescale, Linear Technology, National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments are all participating in the PoE Plus standards effort. A Freescale representative said that completing a draft standard could take until the end of 2007. So far two proposals have surfaced. One would push as far beyond today's 350-milliamp transmission rates as possible, using the existing channels of one of Ethernet's four wire pairs, the data or so-called spare pair. That proposal peaks at about 24 W, since transmitting a full 700 mA on a single pair essentially fries the copper cables' dielectric insulation, rendering them useless. A contending proposal would send 350 mA over both the data and spare wire pairs to hit 30 W at 48 V. Just how the debate will be sorted out remains unclear. Still, all share the same goal. "Eventually you will be able to plug a notebook into the Ethernet network and not need a charger. That's the Nirvana," said Khayat.

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The Power Management DesignLine site is managed by Editor Paul O'Shea. Starting out his career in the "Live Music Capital" city of Austin, Texas more than 20 years ago, Paul began with testing the Texas Instruments Business Systems, and moved on... more