Automotive GbE switch with optical ports is an industry first, says KDPOF
The EVB9351-AUT-SW-NXP with five 1000BASE-RH optical ports is an industry first, claimed KDPOF. It comprises the company’s KD9351 FOT (fibre optic transceiver) and KD1053 PHY IC. The core of the high-speed switch platform is the NXP SJA1110 SoC, commented Guenter Sporer, director of marketing, systems and applications of automotive Ethernet solutions at NXP Semiconductors.
The SJA1110 is a four pin-compatible and software-compatible automotive Ethernet switch SoC. KDPOF’s evaluation board supports carmakers and suppliers in delivering high speed connectivity essential for autonomous vehicles.
The EVB9351-AUT-SW-NXP automotive Ethernet switch board has two SJA1110 switches from NXP. The SoC integrates an Arm Cortex-M7 at 200MHz processor for autonomous and secure operation. It has 512kbyte integrated SRAM as instruction tightly coupled memory (ITCM) and 256kbyte integrated SRAM as data tightly coupled memory (DTCM). It contains a double precision floating point unit and a memory protection unit. Boot time is less than 100ms with a 512kbyte firmware with authentication.
The switch has selectable I/O voltages (1.8, 2.5 and 3.3V) to aid in design flexibility. Its footprint is just 14 x 14mm (LFBGA256) and a package with 0.8mm pitch.
The switch is automotive AEC-Q100 qualified, compliant with ISO 26262 and ASIL-B. 2.5Gbits per second operation is supported for two SGMII ports. The board has five optical 1000/100BASE-RH ports, 12 100BASE-T1 ports, and one NXP SABRE expansion connector.
With the KD9351 optical interface, KDPOF complements the KD1053 digital interface IC, providing a full optical port for in-vehicle gigabit connectivity. The assembly of the FOT and the IC is simplified, explained KDPOF. The connector has snap-fit without soldering.
The devices form a complete automotive 1000BASE-RHC physical layer. KDPOF explained that constructing the trans-impedance amplifier, photodiode, LED driver and LED as one single device significantly lowers costs.
Optical Ethernet connectivity solves the challenges and electrical interference in vehicles thanks to its EMC, reliability and low cost. The optical Ethernet connectivity can be used in safe Ethernet backbones, smart antenna modules and sensor connections for ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and audio/video.
Fabless semiconductor supplier KDPOF provides high speed optical networking for harsh environments. KDPOF made Gbit communications overstep-index plastic optical fibre (SI-POF) a reality for automotive design.
Founded in 2010 in Madrid, Spain, KDPOF offers its technology as a fully qualified automotive-grade ASSP.
