Date: 01/02/2011

4-port and 8-port PoE manager chips from Microsemi

Microsemi is sampling the new 4-port and 8-port members of its PD691xx Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) IC family. The new 4-port PD69104 and 8-port PD69108 are low power less space consuming chips targeted for both commercial and industrial applications such as video screen phones and WiMAX transmitters to pan-tilt-zoom cameras, thin-clients and laptop computers.

These new ICs are the first HDBaseT-compliant solutions in the industry. HDBaseT is the latest, most advanced connectivity technology for long-distance transmission of uncompressed high-definition video, audio and power. The technology enables 5Play simultaneous connectivity to numerous entertainment devices over a single 100 m Cat5e (LAN) cable.

Other features include:
Dynamic power management: lowers system cost by 40% by reducing the power supply size
Emergency power management: supports multiple power supplies for granular power addition
Backplane power management: allows sharing of power supplies between multiple switches in a system
Resilient power management: increases system resilience while maximizing power supply use
Feature internal power MOSFETs enabling switch manufacturers to build switches that fully comply with IEEE802.3-2009 specifications, driving 30 W over 2-pairs or 60 W over 4-pairs. Both are offered in a compact 48 pin QFN 8x8 mm package.

"The PD69104 and PD69108 PoE Managers were built to support the higher currents required by PoE Plus and HDBaseT, allowing full system optimization with the lowest system power dissipation and lowest footprint in the market," said Daniel Feldman, Director of PoE Marketing of Microsemi's Analog Mixed Signal Group. "In HDBaseT mode, the PD691xx family can provide up to 100 W of continuous power per port using all 4-pairs available in Category 5 or better cables. This PoE technology, along with our innovative new LED display products, will provide critical power savings required to address the stringent new upcoming ENERGY STAR requirements for television."

"The PD691xx family utilizes our experience of having shipped over 95 million PoE ports and allows customers to have the smallest real-estate and lowest power consumption," said Paul Pickle, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Microsemi's Analog Mixed Signal Group. "Based on this experience and understanding that power matters, we enable our customers to build multi-port PoE switches or HDBaseT A/V receivers that occupy 33% to 50% less space than competitive solutions."


Availability: Volumes in Q2 2011

Editorial Product Rating: ** (Average Plus) Fairly smart PoE devices