Renesas Electronics Corporation Expands Lineup of Ethernet PHY Chips with Two Single-Channel Industrial Ethernet PHY Chips

TOKYO, Japan -- November 24, 2011 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of two single-channel Ethernet physical layer (PHY, part number µPD60610GA-GAM-AX and µPD60611GA-GAM-AX) devices for industrial communication systems. The two new PHY chips expand Renesas' family of PHY devices designed for industrial Ethernet requirements, which includes two dual-channel PHY devices (the µPD60620GA-GAM-AX and the µPD60621GA-GAX-AX).

Recently, there has been a growing demand among manufacturing companies for intelligent field devices that can capture and transmit information within the factory. This requirement for more efficiency and transparency has accelerated the adoption of industrial Ethernet to interconnect industrial automation systems. The multiple differences between this environment and PC-based and consumer applications have provided the impetus for the development of new standards based on the IEEE802.3 standard. Examples of these differences compared to consumer PHY devices include the need for determinism, real-time and diagnostics features, a high level of reliability, and an extended lifecycle. Renesas prioritised all of these capabilities when developing its new PHY family for industrial automation applications.

Key features of the µPD60610 and µPD60611 PHY devices:

• (1) Specific focus on lowest system latency and jitter

  The new PHY devices deliver high-speed real-time data transmission and error-free reception due to their low node latency and low jitter.

• (2) Enhanced link control

  The new single-channel PHY devices provide high-speed link-up and link-down control which is ideally suited to robotics and similar applications.

• (3) Enhanced diagnostics features for permanent cable quality monitoring

  Renesas Electronics' new PHY devices provide the fast link-loss recognition needed by real-time protocols like PROFINET, SERCOSIII and EtherCAT. They also support cable quality monitoring to facilitate maintenance and repair work.

• (4) Support of IEEE1588 V2 standard

  The µPD60611 single-channel PHY device supports the precision time protocol (PTP) based on the IEEE1588-V2 standard. This enables one-step and two-step mode operations and a number of time trigger outputs to external applications that need synchronous time information. The new PHY device also provides the highest accuracy levels needed for time synchronisation. This feature is required by several types of application, including motion control, AvB (audio video bridging) and sequences of events. The device also provides a 1 ns (nanosecond) accurate and precise timestamp for incoming and outgoing telegrams.

Renesas' PHY technology benefits industrial customers who use Ethernet networks by offering unique features that have not been available in the market until now. Along with providing compatibility with standard Ethernet communication protocols such as Ethernet/IP, SERCOSIII, PROFINET or EtherCAT, the new PHY devices are also compliant with the IEEE802.3 standard and are suitable for implementation in demanding industrial environments. The new PHY chips expand Renesas' range of product lineups for Ethernet-based industrial networks, which include Ethernet microcontrollers (MCUs) and PROFINET ASSPs, such as ERTEC and TPS-1. Renesas' PHY technology is also available as intellectual property (IP) products for customised designs.

Refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the µPD60610 and µPD60611 PHY devices.

Availability

Samples and starter kits for the µPD60610 and µPD60611 PHY devices are available now in a 48-pin small LQFP package. Mass production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of FY2012. Further information can be found at http://www.renesas.eu/EthernetPHY.

Availability is subject to change without notice.

Exhibition at SPS/IPC/Drives Fair

Renesas' µPD60610 and µPD60611 PHY devices will be showcased at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 trade show, to be held in Nuremberg, Germany from November 22 to 24, 2011.

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world's number one supplier of microcontrollers, is a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions and a broad range of analog and power devices. Business operations began as Renesas Electronics in April 2010 through the integration of NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723) and Renesas Technology Corp., with operations spanning research, development, design and manufacturing for a wide range of applications. Headquartered in Japan, Renesas Electronics has subsidiaries in 20 countries worldwide. More information can be found at www.renesas.com.