Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan will start mass production of Re-Timer ICs that incorporate the world’s first e-Marker and comply with the latest USB4®,USB 3.2, Thunderbolt™ 3, DisplayPort™ 2.0 DisplayPort™ Alt Mode standards.
*According to our research as of Nov 15th, 2022
Benefit
- The industry’s top-class high-performance equalizer function [1] and emphasis function [2] realize USB4-equipped devices with interconnectivity (“interoperability”) between various devices.
- Proprietary cable thinning transmission technology [3] eases strict constraints on cable design and manufacturing, making it easy to create thin, long, and flexible USB4 cables.
- The world’s first built-in e-Marker [4] eliminates the need to develop e-Marker control software.
- Through the above, it contributes to the cost reduction of the entire value chain [5] covering the development, manufacturing, and maintenance of USB4 cables.
Please check here for product details：https://www.nuvoton.com/
Market background and issues
１: Signal deterioration due to speed up
With the rapid development of the IoT society, the amount of data to be handled is increasing, and the communication technology required for data transfer is required to be even faster.
USB4 has a maximum communication speed of 40 Gbps, which is double that of the conventional USB 3.2. However, higher communication speeds result in lower signal quality due to increased transmission loss due to board wiring and cable impedance.
Conventionally, to address this problem, waveform shapers such as Re-Driver IC [6] and Re-Timer IC [7] have been installed in equipment and cables to improve signal quality. However, with USB4, it is difficult to match design conditions with conventional waveform shapers, making development and manufacturing more difficult, and manufacturing yields are expected to deteriorate due to insufficient signal margins.
２: Increased software development costs due to speed up
In order to safely perform rapid power supply, which has been in high demand in recent years, USB cables (Type-C® cables compatible with USB 3.1 or higher) are registered with information such as current carrying capacity and manufacturer information called e-Marker. An integrated IC is mounted to ensure the safety and reliability of power supply. USB4 also requires e-Marker implementation, but with faster USB4, new software development is required for the linked operation of e-Marker and Re-Timer IC, which lengthens the development period. The problem of cost increase is expected.
Mass production start time January, 2023
For more information, visit https://www.nuvoton.co.jp/en/.
