OTTAWA -- Zarlink Semiconductor (NYSE/TSX:ZL) today introduced the ZLE™60400 AMC (advanced mezzanine card) optical extender card. Available as both a reference design and ready-to-manufacture solution, the card reduces design time and complexity of optically enabled line cards used in signal processing, networking and communications equipment. The ZLE60400 optical extender card for Serial RapidIO delivers up to 25 Gb/s of ATCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture) and microTCA system interconnect in a hot pluggable, standard AMC form factor. Zarlink will be introducing the ZLE60400 card at Electronica 2006 in Munich, Germany with Avnet Memec (Hall A3, Stand 606).

Increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive, multimedia-rich web applications requires higher-speed system interconnects within networking and communications equipment. RapidIO® technology eliminates potential traffic “bottlenecks” by defining an open-standard, scaleable architecture for chip-to-chip and circuit board-to-circuit board interconnects within wireless infrastructure, edge networking, storage, military and scientific equipment.

“As equipment manufacturers are pressured to meet higher-speed interconnect demands, the ZLE60400 optical extender card meets ATCA high-speed backplane and chassis requirements and allows Serial RapidIO to be brought ‘out of the box’,” said Dr. Marco Ghisoni, product manager, Optical Products, Zarlink Semiconductor. “Integrating Zarlink’s parallel fiber optic module technology, ZLE60400 card provides scalable, high throughput interconnections of beyond 100 meters within equipment racks, shelves and boards”.

Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE/Toronto: ZL)