SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) today introduced two new highly energy-efficient, quad transceivers that extend backplane and cable reach up to 30 percent farther than competitive devices. These PowerWise(R) signal conditioning devices drive high-speed signals in data center servers and storage area networks (SANs). The DS50PCI401 is PCI-SIG-approved to the PCI Express (PCIe) Gen1 (2.5 Gbps) and Gen2 (5 Gbps) specifications, while the DS64BR401 supports both 3 Gbps and 6 Gbps SATA/SAS specifications, along with other high-speed signaling standards such as XAUI, serial Rapid IO (sRIO) and Fibre Channel.

The DS50PCI401 four-lane, bidirectional PCIe transceiver provides both adjustable receive equalization and transmit de-emphasis, along with the industry's lowest power at 190 mW typical per lane. In addition, it supports a selectable low-power state as well as power-down of individual lanes. The DS50PCI401 compensates for transmission medium losses, reducing deterministic jitter on eight transmission channels. It equalizes more than 10 meters of PCIe cable or 40 inches of FR-4 printed circuit board (PCB) at transmission rates up to 5 Gbps. At seven meters of PCIe cable equalization, the DS50PCI401 achieves less than 0.10 unit intervals (UI) of residual jitter at the equalizer output. This extended reach enables the use of lower-cost, thinner (higher gauge) PCIe cable.

The DS50PCI401 offers a unique automatic rate detect feature that adjusts the output signal conditioning to achieve the maximum benefit at Gen1 and Gen2 data rates. In addition, the DS50PCI401 supports PCIe specific out-of-band (OOB) signaling such as transmit idle, receive detect and beacon signal pass through.

For more information on the DS50PCI401 or to order samples and an evaluation board, visit www.national.com/pf/DS/DS50PCI401.html.

The DS64BR401 four-lane, bidirectional SATA/SAS transceiver provides both adjustable receive equalization and transmit de-emphasis, and has undergone extensive interoperability testing with third-party host and target devices. It equalizes up to 10 meters of SATA/SAS cable or 40 inches of FR-4 printed circuit board (PCB) at transmission rates up to 6.4 Gbps, with less than 0.25 UI of residual jitter at the equalizer output.

With a typical power consumption of 200 mW typical per lane, the DS64BR401 supports OOB signaling with approximately 3 ns typical of envelope distortion, ensuring compatibility with the SATA/SAS specification. It also offers an adjustable voltage output differential of 600 mV peak-to-peak (p-p) to 1200 mV p-p. The DS64BR401 provides automatic power management on an individual lane basis via an SMBus interface.

For more information on the DS64BR401 or to order samples and an evaluation board, visit www.national.com/pf/DS/DS64BR401.html.

The DS50PCI401 and DS64BR401 are the latest additions to National's growing family of quad-, dual- and single-channel signal conditioning products. National fabricates these devices on its high-performance silicon-germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS-8 process technology.

Pricing and Availability

Available now and offered in a 10 mm by 5.5 mm, 54-pin leadless LLP package, the DS50PCI401 PCIe transceiver is priced at $9.95 each and the DS64BR401 SATA/SAS transceiver is priced at $11.25 each. All prices are in 1,000-unit quantities.

About National Semiconductor

National Semiconductor is a leader in analog power management technology. Its products include easy-to-use integrated circuits, PowerWise products that enable more energy-efficient systems, and SolarMagic products which improve the energy output of solar arrays. The company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National reported sales of $1.46 billion for fiscal 2009. Additional information is available at www.national.com.

PowerWise and LLP are registered trademarks and Solar Magic is a trademark of National Semiconductor Corporation. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

    Media Contact                                   Reader Information
    Mark Alden                                      Design Support Group
    National Semiconductor                          (800) 272-9959
    (408) 721-6929                                  World Wide Web
    mark.alden@nsc.com                              www.national.com

Web site: http://www.national.com/