...Leading in Ethernet Connectivity Solutions
ASIX is a Professional Fabless Silicon Provider for Ethernet Connectivity....
There is a growing need to add network connectivity into every embedded system. Based on reports by Forrester Research, by the year 2010, up to 95% of the devices used to access the Internet will be non-PC devices that use an embedded system. In other words, the network connectivity of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication will be the primary market demand for the embedded networking system for the years to come.
Ethernet’s ease of use, cost effectiveness, high bandwidth, stability, security, and a high degree of compatibility makes it a natural solution for accessing the Internet. In addition to SOHO and corporate networks, Ethernet is gradually making its way into consumer and household devices as a primary way to access the Internet, satisfying both the stability and reliability demanded by industrial users and the bandwidth and multimedia connectivity demanded by home consumers.
ASIX Electronics is a leading fabless semiconductor supplier with a focus on networking, communication, and connectivity applications. ASIX was founded in May 1995 in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. ASIX Electronics specializes in network connectivity solutions and provides Ethernet-centric silicon products such as non-PCI Ethernet controller, USB 2.0 to LAN controller, and network SoC for embedded networking applications.
ASIX Electronics has established a good track record by providing the following world’s first products:
* Non-PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller : AX88180
* USB 2.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Controller : AX88178
* Single Chip Microcontroller with TCP/IP, 10/100M Fast Ethernet MAC/PHY, and Flash : AX110xx series
* Industry smallest single chip embedded Ethernet MCU in 8x8mm 80-pin TFBGA package : AX11005BF
ASIX Provides Three Different Embedded Ethernet Solutions
ASIX Electronics provides innovative, and yet cost effective products to the customers for emerging communication and networking applications. The current offerings are as follow:
* Embedded Ethernet (Non-PCI or Local Bus):
- Non-PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller : AX88180
- Non-PCI Fast Ethernet Controller : AX88796, AX88796B, AX88196B, and AX88780
- PCMCIA Fast Ethernet Controller : AX88790
* High-speed USB-to-LAN:
- USB2.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Controller : AX88178
- USB2.0 to Fast Ethernet Controller : AX88772, AX88772A, and AX88172A
* Embedded Network SoC:
- Single Chip Microcontroller with TCP/IP, 10/100M Fast Ethernet MAC/PHY, and Flash : AX11001, AX11005, AX11015, and AX11025
The first solution targets devices with micro-controller, which comes with a non-PCI or SRAM type interface. In this case, the highly integrated Non-PCI bus Ethernet MAC+PHY controller is used to connect these devices to Ethernet. This solution provides the easiest way to connect the embedded system to the network for the reason that majority of the micro-controller all support Non-PCI local bus interface. The engineers are able to design very low cost, and yet high performance embedded systems, which offer remotes access capabilities in addition to Internet connectivity. This solution is suitable for home appliances, factory/building automation, industrial equipments, security systems, remote control/monitoring/management, streaming media, and multimedia networking. In addition, broadband applications such as POS terminals, WLAN AP, broadband router, VoIP, content distribution, IP STB, IP camera, digital video recorder, DVD recorder/player, high definition TV (HDTV), digital media adapter, game consoles, home gateway, and IPTV, etc., can also find this solution attractive and cost effective.
The second solution targets those micro-controllers that already have USB Host interface embedded. In this case, an internal or external USB-to-LAN controller can be used to connect these devices to Ethernet.
The proliferation of the broadband infrastructure and the associated new business model has made the services such as IPTV and Media on Demand (MOD) possible. In the future, users will demand higher quality multimedia content that can be downloaded through a home broadband connection and transferred onto mobile devices.
The idea of so called USB-to-LAN converts an USB 2.0 signal to the Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet interface through an USB-to-LAN controller used in the cradle or docking station for the mobile devices. Because the USB 2.0 uses a compact four-pin connector, this solution reduces many pins-out connections between the cradle/docking station and the mobile devices. Another more flexible way is to use an external USB-to-LAN dongle to connect the mobile devices to the network if the microcontroller within the devices has a build-in USB host interface. This will leverage the high-speed and serial bus characteristic of USB2.0, to increase the performance of the devices.
This solution is suitable for computer peripherals, handheld devices, home electronics and appliances, streaming media, broadband media, and other consumer electronics such as USB to Ethernet converter, USB WiMax adaptor, docking stations, cradles, and USB KVM Ethernet switches etc.
The third solution is those micro-controllers, which already integrate both Ethernet MAC and PHY functions, the so-called single chip SoC solution. The AX110xx family is the world’s first high performance 8-bit microcontroller to deliver the 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet MAC/PHY, the TCP/IP accelerator, and the Flash memory in a single chip. With this highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solution, the AX110xx family provides a very small form-factor solution to enable embedded system designers to design compact, low power, high performance yet low cost Embedded and Industrial Ethernet applications for the growing Embedded Networking markets. This solution is suitable for home appliances, factory/building automation, industrial equipments, security systems, remote control/monitoring/management, and streaming media applications such as POS terminals, vending machines, IP camera, Internet radio, automatic meter reading, environmental monitoring systems, network sensors, networked UPS, Serial to Ethernet adapter, and Ethernet to ZigBee bridge, etc.