“approaching the Shannon limit”

HOW THE TECHNOLOGY BECOMES A PRODUCT

KDPOF technology can be integrated in many POF based systems providing great improvements in data-rate, coverage and link budget.

KDPOF technology becomes a product in two different ways: as Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or chip, and as Intellectual Property (IP) that can be integrated in third part Systems on Chips (SoC).  The way depends on the target application.

Gigabit POF transceiver

The KD-PHY1000 will be the first silicon developed by KDPOF. This is a fully integrated Gigabit POF transceiver. This is the first silicon fully compliant with the new Gigabit POF Standard developed under the coordination of the VDE/DKE WG 412.7.1. KD-PHY1000 is optimized to fulfill the requirements of the main POF markets: Home Networking, Industrial and Automotive.

The KD-PHY1000 interfaces with the system where it is integrated through open and flexible interfaces: MII, GMII, RGMII , SGMII or  SerDes MAC interface. These interfaces are able to implement both MAC and PHY roles. Therefore the KD-PHY1000 silicon is able to be connected to e.g Gigabit Ethernet Switch working as PHY or to e.g 1000base-T copper transceiver carrying out the role of MAC.

To provide optical connectivity, the KD-PHY1000 interfaces with the analog Optical Front End (OFE), composed by the Driver and light emitter (LE) in the transmit part, and by the photodiode (PD) and Trans Impedance Amplifier (TIA) in receive part. The KD-PHY1000 incorporates built in Automatic Gain Control (AGC) and configurable analog filters that make very flexible the connectivity with the analog FOTs.

Both point-to-point and daisy-chain topologies are possible with KD-PHY1000. The implementation of network nodes, like wall plugs incorporating several POF ports for daisy-chain topology, is highly simplified thanks to the flexible interfaces. On the other hand, KD-PHY1000 allows backwards compatibility with POF ports based on IEEE 802.3 100base-FX, enabling connectivity in legacy installations.

KD-PHY1000 can be used to provide Gigabit POF connectivity in different applications:

1. • Costumer Premisses Equipment (CPE), as routers
   

2. • Small Form-Factor (SFP) GBIC pluggable transceiver
   

3. • Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) for industrial control devices
   

4. • Gigabit Ethernet NIC for data storage devices, PC, digital TV, Set-top-Boxes, network attached drives
   

5. • Wall plug network components in structured home network installations based on POF
   

6. • Ethernet ↔ POF media converters
   

Download the product brief:

· KD-PHY1000 ·

Gigabit POF switch

Following shows a KDPOF silicon integrating two POF ports with Ethernet switching capabilities. In this case the ASIC interfaces with two OFEs (analog FOTs) and routes packets among three ports - two POF ports and the host interface.

This silicon is very well suited for structured daisy-chain installations, because it reduces the BOM and simplifies the board design of wall plug network components, reducing the cost of the complete solution.

Another silicon with switching capabilities is depicted in next figure, which can be viewed as an evolution of the above scheme. Here, the KDPOF silicon routes packets among three POF ports. This scheme is well suited to extend the home network following a tree topology.

Daisy-chain home networks based on POF

Next figure shows a daisy-chain home network based on POF, implementing a topology for easy installation and upgrade. The router and all the other network devices may be connected to wall plugs, that offer several external Gigabit copper RJ45 connectors each one. The wall plug network components are implemented based on KDPOF Gigabit chips. The laptop, typically used for non real-time multimedia tasks may be connected by WiFi.

Daisy-chain topology provides several advantages compared with ring or star topology:

1. • Reuse of the electrical ducts, which are installed also following daisy-chain topologies
   

2. • Requires fewer cables
   

3. • The cost of the complete network solution is reduced
   

4. • Daisy-chain is more reliable than a ring
   

5. • Only one cable is required for connecting rooms in a residence
   

Gigabit POF for the automotive industry

It has been already several years since the automotive industry incorporated POF in cars. With the growing demand for automotive safety, all the leading OEMs and suppliers are heavily investing in ADAS (Automotive Driving Assistance Systems) technologies. Most of the ADAS implementations are based on a sensor (typically a CMOS or CCD image device), an ECU and a display or any other HMI. The link between all these subsystems is very well suited for POF, running at Gigabit speeds and low latency. KD-PHY1000 is also optimized for ADAS applications by integrating parallel video and SPI/I2C control interfaces as well as an advanced multi-protocol multiplexer. KD-PHY1000 can be integrated in an image based sensor without requiring additional micro-controller, encapsulating transparently the video data and the control signals between the sensor and ECU over a single POF link.

KDPOF technology is also able to provide a new physical layer to MOST® infotainment systems enabling data-rates of more than 1 Gbps. We envisage this challenge can be achieved by integration of our technology as IP in third part ASICs or as additional ASIC between MOST® INIC and analog FOTs. The MOST® INIC is in charged to provide the upper layers specified by the MOST® standard, while KDPOF silicon provides the physical layer.

Ⓒ2011 Knowledge Development for POF S.L.