PLC :: AR7400/AR1500
Combining Powerline with Atheros' rich portfolio of WLAN and Ethernet products, we are transforming networking in the digital home with unified Wi-Fi/PLC/Ethernet gateways, and with dynamic meshed networks employing the nimble combination of Wi-Fi and Powerline adapters throughout the home. The combination of these great connectivity technologies will enable a new class of networking for consumer electronics, computing as well as mobile devices in the home that benefit users with added capacity, flexibility, reliability and ease-of-deployment.
Technology Overview
Atheros is committed to addressing the dramatically expanding connectivity requirements of the digital home. The AR7400 is the latest and fastest in Atheros’ AMP™ Powerline solutions portfolio and is IEEE 1901 and HomePlug AV compliant. This fourth-generation HomePlug AV-based IC delivers carrier- grade broadband communications over both powerlines and coax.
For consumers and service providers using powerline, AR7400 technology enables fast, wired networking within a home using the home’s existing electrical wiring. It performs even faster over coax, providing last-mile broadband access in multi-dwelling units. In these Ethernet-over-Coax applications, it delivers PHY rates of 700 Mbps and up to 350 Mbps of throughput over coax.
Product Overview
The AR7400 is a Powerline Communications (PLC) transceiver IC. This IC enables the world’s smallest, highest performing and lowest power HomePlug AV-based and IEEE 1901-compliant products yet deployed. The chipset operates over a wider spectrum (2 MHz to 68 MHz), delivering over 2x the PHY rate speed of current HomePlug AV solutions.
The AR7400 transceiver is optimized for multi-media streaming applications to reliably deliver up to 500 Mbps PHY rate over the home’s AC wiring. The AR7400 includes a complete IEEE 1901 and HomePlug AV MAC and PHY, an Ethernet MII/RGMII Host Interface and an external memory interface that supports SDRAM/DDR memory. The AR7400 includes high-precision
A/D (Analog-to-Digital) and D/A (Digital-to-Analog) converters required for analog interface to the AR1500 AFE/Line Driver IC.
The companion chip is the AR1500 AFE/Line Driver IC. The AR1500 AFE/ Line Driver IC includes a Tx filter, a programmable-gain line driver and a programmable-gain Rx amplifier. The amplifier programmability allows signal optimization and multiple country support
Solution Highlights
- Supports up to 500 Mbps PHY rates over powerline and 700 Mbps PHY rates over coax
- Highly integrated MAC/PHY transceiver, supporting MII and RGMII interfaces
- Support for low power EuP directive
- IEEE 1901 and HomePlug AV PHY:
- Supports OFDM 4096/1024/256/64/16/8 QAM, QPSK, BPSK and ROBO Modulation Schemes
- 128-bit AES Link Encryption with key management
- Windowed OFDM with noise mitigation based on patented line synchronization techniques improves data integrity in noisy conditions
- Dynamic channel adaptation and channel estimation
- Advanced Turbo Code Forward Error Correction
- IEEE 1901 and HomePlug AV MAC:
- Priority-based CSMA/CA channel access schemes maximize efficiency and throughput
- Integrated Quality of Service (QoS) enhancements with programmable packet classification engines and multiple priority queuing
- Supports IGMP managed multicast sessionst
- RoHS Compliant: 15x15 mm, 196 LBGA, Pb-Free package
