Broadcom is First to Market With the Industry’s Lowest Power 40nm 10GBASE-T PHYs

New Physical Layer Transceiver Family Enables 10 Gbps over Unshielded Twisted Pair at Low Power Levels Paving the Way for Wide Scale 10GbE Deployments

IRVINE, Calif., Feb 03, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced the availability of the world’s first samples of low power 10GBASE-T transceivers produced in 40 nanometer (nm) process technology. The new Broadcom(R) family of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) physical layer (PHY) transceivers support IEEE 802.3 10GBASE-T operation over 100 meters of shielded or unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable, and RJ45 connectors and are available in either a dual port or quad port configuration. The advanced 40nm process technology and power-savings design techniques have lowered the operating power below 4 watts per port, significantly lower than competitive solutions designed in 65nm or 90nm technologies.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• As server processing speeds quickly outstrip 1 Gigabit Ethernet (1GbE) bandwidth, 10GbE is fast becoming the required connectivity for high performance computing and storage.
• Market research from Dell’Oro Group indicates that over two million 10GbE ports were shipped in 2009, and that 10 Gigabit (10G) copper connections will potentially exceed 14 million ports by 2013.(1) This anticipated growth is fueled in part by increases in server input/output (I/O) speed and storage I/O speed, as well as the additional throughput needed for the aggregation of 1GbE links.
• The Broadcom 40nm 10GBASE-T transceiver family includes the BCM84833 (two ports) and BCM84834 (four ports). This family addresses the need for 10 Gbps connectivity bandwidth and includes the following capabilities:
  • Either two or four independent 10GBASE-T ports, providing a complete PHY solution operating at less than 4 watts of power per port over 100 meters of Category 6A UTP or Category 7 cables.
  • Offers XAUI and XFI ports to enable connection to external 10 Gbps fiber optic modules for dual media (copper / fiber) applications.
  • Supports Broadcom’s AutogrEEEn(TM) mode that further reduces power consumption to less than 2 watts per port when network traffic is light.
  • Provides dual port or quad port configurations that reduce the number of required devices in a design when compared to single port transceivers. It also uses less board space and provides better airflow than competing solutions that have to use multiple chips to achieve similar functionality.
  • Is ideally suited for high-density switch and server designs and will help drive the adoption of 10 Gbps twisted pair connectivity in data centers and enterprise networks.
  • Supports auto-negotiation between 10 Gbps and legacy Ethernet speeds to enable compatibility with already installed Ethernet technology. This provides IT managers with a solution that meets current 10 Gbps bandwidth connectivity requirements while maintaining complete backwards compatibility and interoperability with existing equipment that uses 1GbE or Fast Ethernet connectivity. End users can now deploy servers with 10GBASE-T while maintaining connectivity with any installed Ethernet switch, and upgrade their network as time and budgets allow.
• The Broadcom 40nm 10GBASE-T transceiver family is now available in sample quantities to early access customers.
• Broadcom’s comprehensive PHY product portfolio includes support for all 10G physical layer standards including 10GBASE-T, 10GBASE-KR, 10GBASE-LRM, 10GBASE-SR/LR and 10GBASE-ER/ZR.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).

Broadcom, one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2009 revenue of $4.49 billion, holds more than 3,800 U.S. and 1,550 foreign patents, and has more than 7,800 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.