Texas Instruments Unveils Industry's First PCI Express PHY Chip

Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) has strengthened its commitment to PCI Express architecture technology development and deployment by introducing the industry's first discrete PCI Express physical layer (PHY) chip, the XIO1000. This innovation enables the creation of PCI Express instrumentation and test equipment applications, showcasing the robustness of TI's 1.0a PCI Express physical layer and PCI Express-to-PCI bridge solution. The PHY supports transmit and receive bandwidths of 2.5 gigabits per second (Gbps) and is a crucial component for enabling applications to take full advantage of PCI Express bandwidth and flexibility.

Key Takeaways:

• TI has released the first discrete PCI Express PHY chip, the XIO1000, which enables the creation of PCI Express instrumentation and test equipment applications.
• The XIO1000 supports transmit and receive bandwidths of 2.5 Gbps and is the industry's first PCI Express 1.0a chip.
• TI's PCI Express roadmap includes a complete portfolio of products, including PCI Express switches, physical layer devices, and devices supporting the "Express Card" specification.
• The industry expects PCI Express to be the predominant PC I/O architecture over the next several years.
• PCI Express is a point-to-point serial differential low-voltage interconnect that consolidates application requirements for use by multiple market segments.
• TI has a strong commitment to PCI Express, with a customer demand-driven solution roadmap.

Statistics:

• 2.5 Gbps: The transmit and receive bandwidth supported by the XIO1000.
• 1.0a: The version of the PCI Express standard supported by the XIO1000.
• Several years: The expected timeframe for PCI Express to become the predominant PC I/O architecture.

Sources:

• "TI Unveils Industry's First PCI Express PHY Chip," Texas Instruments Press Release, Feb. 16.
• "PCI Express," Texas Instruments Documentation.
• "Texas Instruments," Texas Instruments Corporate Website.