Gain enters analog IC market with physical-layer transceiver for USB 2.0

Gain enters analog IC market with physical-layer transceiver for USB 2.0
By Semiconductor Business News
February 27, 2002 (4:14 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020227S0048

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gain Technology Corp. rolled out its first analog front-end interface chip for high-speed USB peripherals during the Intel Developer Forum here this week. The GT3200 is compliant with the USB 2.0 Transceiver Macrocell Interface (UTMI) specification, said Gain, which is based in Tucson, Ariz.

The GT3200 represents Gain's entry into the analog IC market. The device is a physical-layer transceiver supporting 480-megabit-per-second transmissions on the Universal Serial Bus. The transceiver can be configured for use as either an 8- or 16-bit interface, said privately-held Gain.

Packaged in a 64-lead quad flatpack, the GT3200 is priced at $3.49 each in 10,000 piece quantities. The chip is now available and being sampled by customers.

During the next 12-to-18 months, Gain plans to introduce additional high-performance serial transceiver chips for transport speeds exceeding multi-gigabit/sec. data rates. These transceivers will address Serial ATA (15 to 600 Mbits/sec.), Infiniband (3.125 Gbits/sec.), 3GIO and other PHY technologies for next-generation PCs, servers, storage systems, and peripherals.

"There is a clear industry shift from aging legacy interfaces to new, robust high-speed serial standards, such as USB 2.0, 3GIO and Serial ATA," noted Steve Millaway, CEO and founder of Gain Technology. He said these high-speed interfaces make it more difficult to find suitable analog front-end functions for systems.

Gain is also offering a complementary USB 2.0 macrocell for ASICs and system-on-chip designs. The GT3100 core is available on advanced foundry processes, including technologies from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC).