Fabless semiconductor company, Parade Technologies Ltd., (Sunnyvale, California, USA) has introduced two new SATA Bidirectional Repeater integrated circuits that exhibit low dynamic power characteristics.

The SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) repeaters are ideal for driving eSATA (external SATA) receptacles in mobile and 'green' PC applications. The devices support both SATA 1.5 Gb/s and SATA 3.0 Gb/s interfaces, which are the industry standard data transfer protocols for external PC disk drives. The PS8515 includes an I2C port for advanced feature support, while the PS8511 supports all basic SATA requirements.

The PS8511 and PS8515 achieve a new industry benchmark for low power performance, which is critical for laptop computers. In active data transfer mode, the 1.5V version of these new devices consumes less than half the power required by the most power-efficient competing devices in the market today. The PS8511 and PS 8515 are also distinguished from other SATA repeaters by their automatic power management feature, and industry first for SATA repeaters. By taking advantage of the 'burst' nature of SATA data transfers, the devices automatically enter a low-power state when the bus is idle. Upon resumption of data activity, the device becomes active again with an exit latency of 10 ns. The result is a more than 60 percent power saving during data transfer, when compared to competitive devices.

Other features of the PS8511 and PS8515 series include the ability to adjust both receiver equalization and output pre-emphasis to compensate for PCB trace and cable characteristics. The devices operate from a single voltage supply, and are offered in both 1.5 V or 3.3 V supply options. The PS8511 provides a pinout that matches several existing SATA devices, enabling rapid design conversion to these new parts. All of the devices can be set for both SATA and eSATA output levels.

The PS8511 and PS8515 series also set a new standard in ESD protection, having an ESD rating of HBM 8 kV, CDM 2 kV, and MM 400 V. This enables the devices to interface the eSATA receptacle directly without the use of additional ESD protection devices, saving both PCB board space and additional system cost.

"eSATA is becoming very prevalent in both mobile and desktop PCs," explained Jimmy Chiu, VP of Marketing at Parade Technologies. "Having the ability to connect an external SATA disk drive is very compelling. However, device power management is particularly important due to the burst nature of SATA data transfer. This affects both device heat generation and battery life in mobile PCs. Parade is the first to introduce an eSATA repeater with fully automatic power management."

Availability and Pricing

The PS8511 and PS8515 series devices are available in a 4x4mm 20-pin QFN package. They can be operated through device pin control or through I2C bus interface from the system host. The devices use a single power supply of 1.5V or 3.3V, depending on the device option ordered.

The PS8511 and PS8315 series devices are available now, and sell for $1.20/each in volume.

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Parade Technologies