Chips: Lucent Technologies Introduces Single-Chip Host/Physical Layer IC for High-Speed 1394a Serial Bus Connections On PCs - FW323 - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, July 19, 1999

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) Microelectronics Group, the world leader in communications semiconductors, Monday announced the industry's first IEEE 1394a Firewire(a) integrated circuit (IC) that combines a 400 megabit-per-second (Mbps) physical-layer (PHY) interface and a PCI-based 1394a open host controller interface (OHCI) link on a single chip. This provides substantial cost, space and power savings over currently available two-chip solutions.

Computer manufacturers and add-in card suppliers can use the new FW323 IC to boost the availability of 1394 interfaces on PCs, thus helping users tap the rapidly growing market of 1394-equipped peripherals. By combining functions that previously had to be implemented on separate chips, the FW323 IC makes it easier and more affordable for computer manufacturers to deploy this plug-and-play high-speed connectivity standard into home PCs as well as business workstations and servers.

With today's transfer rate of up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps) and future rates of 800 Mbps and higher, 1394 connectivity enables computer users to take advantage of applications that move large volumes of data between computers and peripherals. These include rapid high-resolution scanning and photo-quality printing as well as digital audiovisual transfer between computers and digital camcorders, set-top boxes, audio systems, DVDs and external AV mass storage devices.

"Our new IC uses the same technology and design methodology that we put into our discrete 1394a PHY and PCI OHCI devices," said Mark Richman, 1394 product manager with Lucent's Microelectronics Group. "This assures systems manufacturers of design maturity and quality while providing a substantial price/performance advantage."

Richman notes that four major computer companies are now providing 1394 connectivity on their high-end systems, and another four are expected to introduce it by the end of the year.

"This will be the year that IEEE 1394 moves beyond mere specifications to broad-based product introductions," said Mark Kirstein, vice president of research at Cahners In-Stat Group. "The next 18 months will be a window of opportunity for IEEE 1394 in the PC market."

The FW323 is compliant with the IEEE 1394a standard and operates at 400, 200 and 100 Mbps. It can be designed into both computer motherboards and PC add-in cards. Its link controller complies with the OHCI specification. The FW323 architecture supports a 32-bit, 33 MHz interface to a PCI bus in a computer, workstation or server. The physical layer circuitry supports three connection ports. The device is compatible with Sony's i.LINK(b) interface and contains additional features to maintain compatibility with IEEE 1394-1995 implementations found in some older camcorders.

The FW323 is housed in a 128-pin, thin quad flat pack (TQFP) package. It joins Lucent's family of 1394 ICs, including single-, dual-, three-, four- and six-port physical layer devices, which Lucent continues to offer to makers of PCs, workstations and 1394a peripherals who want maximum design versatility and flexibility. All are manufactured using Bell Laboratories' advanced digital CMOS technology and draw on the company's expertise in mixed-signal design for 3.3-volt operation and five- volt-tolerant input/output. The FW323 design draws on Lucent's PCI experience with its USB-PCI host controller, currently in production.

Sample quantities of the FW323 are available now with volume production scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. Unit pricing is expected to be less than US$10 in production quantities.

Information and specifications on these devices can be found on Lucent's web site at: http://www.lucent.com/micro/1394/1394.html.> Lucent is a member of the 1394 Trade Association, a group of some 170 companies that supports the development of computer and consumer electronics systems that can be easily connected with each other via the IEEE 1394 serial multimedia link.

Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, visit its web site at http://www.lucent.com.

Lucent's Microelectronics Group designs and manufactures integrated circuits and optoelectronic components for the computer and communications industries. More information about the Microelectronics Group is available from its web site at http://www.lucent.com/micro.>

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