Signal switch ICs, clock generators and clock buffers chase 20Gbps protocols

Signal switches, clock generators and clock buffers for PCI Express (PCIe) 4.0 technology applications are now available from Diodes Incorporated

Addressing the expanding market for signal routing with different protocols in PCs, servers, embedded applications including artificial intelligence and fast data transfer generally, the PI3DBS16212 and PI3DBS16412 are 1-20Gbps 2-channel and 4-channel 2:1 differential multiplexers/demultiplexers with low loss, reflection, crosstalk and skew.

Offering greater flexibility of channels and routing, typical applications include switching high-speed serial signals employing the latest protocols, including: 20Gbps ThunderboltTM 3; 16Gbps PCIe 4.0 architecture; 10Gbps USB3.1 Gen2; 12Gbps Serial Attached SCSI 3 (SAS3); 8.1Gbps Display Port 4 (DP4); 12Gbps HDMI2.1, and 10Gbps Ethernet standards.

For the emerging PCIe 4.0 applications, the company says the PI3DBS16212 and PI3DBS16412 offer excellent signal integrity with an insertion loss of -1.3dB at 16Gbps. In this application, minimal skew between channels eases the timing budget between nodes, and power dissipation is low at typically 300-microA. The parts are fabricated with silicon on insulator (SOI) technology and have a small profile package at 2mm x 2mm for the 2:1 multiplexer.

Also driven by the adoption of the new PCIe 4.0 standard, the PI6CG18201, PI6CG18401, PI6CG18801, PI6CG15401 clock generators provide 1.8V 2/4/8 HCSL outputs and 1.5V 4 HCSL outputs, respectively, and use Diodes Incorporated’s proprietary phase-locked loop design to achieve the required tight jitter performance of less than 0.5ps.

The parts also provide the reference clock for SERDES chipsets supporting the PCIe 4.0 interface. Each output has its own enable with programmable slew rate and amplitude. On-chip termination resistors are incorporated saving up to 32 external resistors for the 8-channel version for space-constrained applications with the parts consuming about 85 per cent less power than traditional PCIe clocks. A spread-spectrum option is also available to reduce EMI in sensitive applications.

PI6CB18200, PI6CB18401, PI6CB18601, and PI6CB18801 are PCIe 4.0 2/4/6/8 HCSL output clock buffers fanned-out from a reference input. Like the clock generators, the slew rate and amplitude of each output is programmable and there are individual output enables for better power management. Additive jitter for the clock buffers is less than 0.05ps.

http://www.diodes.com

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Global Smart Home Market to Hit $155 Billion by 2023

Global Smart Home market rises 16% in 2017 to $84B; Strategy Analytics’ forecast predicts $155B by 2023. According to the report, “2018 Global Smart Home Market Forecast”

The global smart home market ended on an upbeat note in 2017 reaching $84 billion, up 16% from $72 billion in 2016 according to a report just released by Strategy Analytics . According to the report, “ 2018 Global Smart Home Market Forecast ”, worldwide consumer spending on smart home devices, systems and services will total nearly $96 billion in 2018 and grow at 10% CAGR over the forecast period (2018 to 2023) to $155 billion. North America will account for 41% of total spending or $40 billion, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at $26 billion and Western Europe at $17 billion.

New offerings from big brand tech firms such as Amazon, Google (Nest), ADT and Samsung are driving adoption in North America. In Europe, UK-based Centrica Connected Homes’ Hive along with Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta Home, Germany’s eQ-3 and the Netherlands Enco’s Toon are stimulating market demand. In Asia-Pacific, China’s Xiaomi, Korean service provider LG U+, Japan’s iTSCOM and Panasonic, as well as, Origin and Telstra in Australia are powering the market.

“The market continues to mature,” stated Bill Ablondi, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Smart Home Strategies advisory service. “Consumer awareness is rising, prices are coming down, and the technology is becoming more intuitive. Yet, there is still a high degree of fragmentation, with numerous firms competing for smart home consumers. Who will ultimately succeed in capturing growth in this market remains unclear.”

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success.

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Lattice claims low power FPGA will enable mass market AI in edge devices

Lattice Semiconductor believes its sensAI technology stack, combining modular hardware kits, neural network IP cores, software tools, reference designs and custom design services will open the door for rapid deployment of machine learning inference across IoT applications that require low power consumption.

The sensAI is optimised to provide low power operation (one mW to one W), small size, and production-priced (~one to $10) benefits of ASICs, with the flexibility of FPGAs, to support evolving algorithms, interfaces, and tailored performance, says Lattice.

These attributes are expected to accelerate deployment of AI into fast growth consumer and industrial IoT applications including mobile, smart home, smart city, smart factory, and smart car products.

The package size is 5.5 to 100mm2, while interface flexibility, with MIPI CSI-2, LVDS and GigE options, and the high-volume pricing offer a fast-track implementation of edge computing close to the source of data, says Lattice.

Deepak Boppana, senior director, product and segment marketing at Lattice Semiconductor said: “By delivering a full-featured machine learning inferencing technology stack combining flexible, ultra-low power FPGA hardware and software solutions, the Lattice sensAI stack accelerates integration of on-device sensor data processing and analytics in edge devices.” He goes on to say that the company’s expertise in FPGA technology are the basis for new edge computing solutions for edge connectivity, implementing flexible sensor interface bridging and data aggregation in high-volume IoT applications”, he continued, citing smart speakers, surveillance cameras, industrial robots and drones as potential applications.

“The edge is getting smarter with more computing capabilities being deployed for real-time processing of data from an expanding range of sensors, as seen in the consumer IoT space, and the emergence of artificial intelligence is only accelerating this trend,” said Michael Palma, research director at IDC.

With the adoption of machine learning technology, latency, privacy and network bandwidth limitations are pushing computing to the edge. IHS Markit expects 40 billion IoT devices at the edge between 2018 and 2025, and predicts that in the next five to 10 years, the convergence of IoT, AI-based edge computing and cloud analytics will disrupt “each and every industry vertical and domain, as well as to foster new business opportunities”. Semico Research predicts unit growth for edge devices with AI will increase by more than 110 per cent CAGR over the next five years.

Lattice’s sensAI stack includes modular hardware platforms, the ECP5 device-based video interface platform (VIP), including the Embedded Vision development kit, and iCE40 UltraPlus device-based Mobile Development Platform (MDP).

The IP core include the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) accelerator and Binarised Neural Network (BNN) accelerator. Software tools are the neural network compiler tool for Caffe/TensorFlow to FPGA, Lattice Radiant design software and Lattice Diamond design software.

Face detection, key phrase detection, object counting, face tracking, and speed sign detection reference designs are also included, with design services from partners for market applications covering smart cities, smart homes and smart factories.

http://www.latticesemi.com

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