Kandou Announces Development of USB4 Retimer

Kandou SerDes Leadership Empowers the Next Generation of USB-Enabled Devices

Lausanne, Switzerland -- September 9, 2019 -- Kandou, a global leader in ultra-low power SerDes technology, has announced development is underway for the industry’s first USB-C® multi-protocol retimer solution with USB4™ support.

The announcement follows the publication of the USB4 specification by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). Key characteristics of the specification include:

• Two-lane operation using existing USB Type-C® cables and up to 40 Gb/s operation over 40 Gb/s certified cables,
• Multiple data and display protocols that efficiently share the maximum aggregate bandwidth, and
• Backward compatibility with USB 3.2, Thunderbolt™ 3 and DisplayPort™ 1.4.

The USB4 specification is available for download at www.usb.org.

USB4 enables faster connections (for video processing / data transfer) and backward compatibility with existing USB protocols, which will drive a new generation of USB-enabled devices including:

• Mobile, Tablet and Desktop PCs
• Active Cables
• Monitors, Docking Stations and adaptors
• External Hard Disk and Solid-State Drives
• Gaming Consoles

“Our experience building the world’s leading low power SerDes designs gives us a unique perspective on solving the challenges of next generation USB,” said Dr. Amin Shokrollahi, Founder and CEO of Kandou. “Now that we have silicon back in our lab and are seeing excellent initial results, we look forward to delivering our retimer that will demonstrate low active power, support of multiple protocols and cable orientation awareness.”

Kandou will be attending the USB Developer Days event scheduled for September 17 and 18 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle in Seattle, WA.

Availability

Engineering samples will be available in November 2019. Production shipments will begin in second half of 2020.

Product Brief

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About Kandou

Founded in 2011, Kandou is the innovative leader in high-speed, energy ecient, chip-to-chip link solutions critical to the evolution of the electronics industry. Kandou enables a better-connected world by offering disruptive technology through licensing and standard products that empower the devices we use every day to become smaller, more energy ecient and more cost effective.

Kandou has a strong IP portfolio that includes Chord™ signaling, which has been adopted into industry speci- cations by JEDEC and the OIF. These innovations and implementations deliver a fundamental advance in interconnect technology that lowers the power consumed and improves the performance of chip links, unlocking new capabilities for customer devices and systems.

Kandou is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland with oces in Europe, North America and Asia.

For more information: http://www.kandou.com