SCIENCE

Mindspeed Technologies announced it has extended its line of low-cost, low-power crosspoint devices that bring re-configurability capabilities and the company's performance-enhancing Amplif-Eye signal equalization technology to small- and medium-sized systems. The company's latest, 32-port reconfigurable cross point device will be shown along with the company's other high-definition (HD) broadcast video products at IBC 2011, September 9-13, 2011, in Hall 10 Stand F.39, at the RAI Centre in Amsterdam.

"Our new, reconfigurable 32-port crosspoint joins our existing 24-port solution to open new market opportunities for differentiating smaller switching matrix solutions with capabilities that previously were only available using larger, more expensive and less power-efficient crosspoints and signal conditioners," said Ryan Latchman, executive director of strategic marketing with Mindspeed's high-performance analog (HPA) business unit. "Developers can use our reconfigurable crosspoints to customize a system's matrix size depending on the application, while optimizing performance by using integrated Amplif-Eye signal-conditioning technology to reduce jitter associated with driving high-speed signals across backplanes and cables."

At IBC 2011, Mindspeed will be showing its new M21163 32-port crosspoint switch along with the industry's broadest offering of digital crosspoint switches for video applications, ranging from 2x2 to 288x288 matrix sizes. The company also will be demonstrating its low-power Serial Digital Interface (SDI) quad reclocker, a very low-power solution that includes signal conditioning at each input and output, and an integrated 16x4 crosspoint switch.

Mindspeed(R)'s M21163 32-port non-blocking switching solution incorporates the same industry-leading Amplif-Eye signal-conditioning technology that the company includes in its larger crosspoints and signal conditioners. Reconfigurable input/outputs (I/Os) enable designers to customize a system's matrix size for the given application, including 1x31, 16x16, 24x8 and other variations depending on whether the design is a switch requiring the same number of inputs as outputs, a fan-out buffer requiring a majority of outputs or a multiplexer/selector requiring a majority of inputs. The M21163 device is targeted for use in SDI applications and those operating at other data frequencies up to 3.2 gigabits per second (Gbps), and features very low power consumption (70 milliwatts per channel) for a solution of its size.

Mindspeed's Amplif-Eye technology is an increasingly important feature for applications, including digital video, medical imaging and machine vision that require error-free, high-speed data transmission. Crosspoints with Amplif-Eye technology can be used as buffers on high-speed signal paths to compensate for signal insertion loss that occurs during transmission through printed circuit board (PCB) traces. Amplif-Eye technology delivers signal equalization at both inputs and outputs to mitigate or eliminate this signal degradation due to transmission line effects.

The M21163 crosspoint can be used in a variety of applications, including HD SDI digital video routing switchers and other production and presentation switchers, plus routing switches supporting high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), digital visual interface (DVI) and DisplayPort. Other applications include Optical Transport Network (OTN), Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexer (DWDM) and other fiber-optic network switching, high-speed serial backplane routing, data storage networking and backplane communications using 10 Gigabit Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI), Infiniband and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) protocols.

Pricing and Availability

The M21163 crosspoint is sampling now and will be available in product volumes in the 4th calendar quarter of 2011. It is packaged in a 17 mm x 17 mm 252 pin ball grid array (BGA) package and is priced at $30.00 USD per unit in OEM volumes of 1000. Evaluation kits are available now.