CAMARILLO, Calif. -- Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:VTSS - News) today announced the availability of the VSC3312, a 12 port crosspoint switch with enhanced signal equalization capabilities for transmitting multi-gigabit data signals across printed circuit boards, through backplane connectors and over copper cabling used in networking and storage systems. Adding to Vitesse's industry leading portfolio of crosspoint and signal conditioner IC products, the VSC3312 is the first of a family of products operating from DC up to 11 Gbps and features Vitesse's unique PixEQ(TM) technology that advances high-speed signal integrity performance. Implementing the industry's first dual time constant programmable input signal equalization and output signal pre-emphasis, the VSC3312 compensates for multiple impairments in a signal path. In addition, the product family introduces re-configurable Input/Output (I/O) device interfaces allowing the user to optimize I/Os to their exact system requirements.

Unique Feature Set

The VSC3312 is the industry's first crosspoint product capable of detecting and transmitting loss of signal (LOS) allowing native Out-of-Band (OOB) support of SAS/SATA storage protocols. This architecture also provides protocol transparent operation and allows each channel to run independently. This allows the device to support a wide frequency range encompassing virtually all data protocols including GbE, XAUI, 2X XAUI, SAS, SATA, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand(TM). Additional members of this crosspoint switch product family will be introduced in the near future.

The combined functions of crosspoint switching and Vitesse's unique PixEQ(TM) equalization make the VSC3312 a highly cost effective, low power signal integrity tool useful wherever there are high-speed signals. The VSC3312 incorporates a broadband, fully non-blocking and multicasting switch core and flexible fourth-generation equalization and pre-emphasis I/O capability. The device can perform signal fan-out, loop-back, and protection switching and also regenerate signals otherwise compromised by losses in the transmission medium. Vitesse's PixEQ(TM) equalization capability works independently of the data rate, providing highly effective compensation for deterministic jitter across a wide range of operating conditions without requiring re-tuning. In addition, the VSC3312 consumes only 160mW per channel thereby dramatically reducing power requirements by up to 50% over previous generation devices.

The re-configurable Input/Output (I/O) capability of this product family allows ports to operate as either an input or output for a total of nine different I/O combinations from 8:16 to 16:8. Re-configurable I/O dramatically improves signal allocation and routing flexibility and reduces overall chip count.

"With this product introduction, Vitesse is setting a new benchmark in performance and flexibility. This is truly a universal, cost-effective Signal Integrity solution for high speed copper interconnects," said Juan Garza, Vitesse Product Marketing Manager.

World Class Signal Integrity

Vitesse was first to introduce integrated signal equalization in crosspoints switches and now has nearly a decade of successful product developments with dozens of products in production. Vitesse's latest generation PixEQ technology enables a new level of signal integrity engineering with the introduction of dual time constant equalization. Dual time constant equalization allows the system designer to independently compensate for multiple impairments in the signal path, such as connectors and cabling or skin effect and dielectric losses in PCB traces. Dual time constant equalization also provides a significantly wider compensation range so that a single device can be used in multiple applications, from PCB traces to backplanes to copper cabling.

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: VTSS)