Microsemi announced today the PD64001(tm), the first 1-port Power over Ethernet manager capable of driving 36W on 2-pairs to powered devices, and supporting 2-event Classification, while complying with the stringent requirements specified in IEEE802.3at-Draft 1.0.

The new Microsemi PoE manager will allow switch, router and midspan vendors to provide higher levels of managed power to a broadened range of Ethernet devices in small office, home office and residential applications, such as WiMAX transmitters, pan-tilt-zoom cameras, fiber-to-the-home optical network terminators and outdoor xDSL/cable modems, in a cost effective manner.

The PD64001, supporting an average maximum current of 720mA, enables manufacturers to build switches that can drive 36W for every 2-pairs interface and power any device that consumes up to 30W, sourcing the minimum voltage of 50V as specified in IEEE802.3at-draft1.0. Customers requiring up to 60W can use a 4-pair architecture using a combination of two PD64001 devices, which together drive 72W.

"The PD64001 allows Ethernet switch and midspan manufacturers the certainty that their switches and midspans built today are ready for the forthcoming IEEE802.3at standard, without the need for any special software configuration," said Daniel Feldman, PoE Product Line Manager at Microsemi. "The PD64001 enables the deployment of infrastructure applications such as IEEE802.11n WLAN, IEEE802.16d WiMAX, fiber-to-the-home, as well as powering computing devices such as thin clients and notebook computers."

The PD64001 includes advanced features present at the multi-port Microsemi PSE PoE managers, including detection of pre-standard devices, support for AC and DC disconnection, and is the first to support 2-event classification. 2-event classification is essential for building IEEE802.3at-draft1.0-compliant midspans, and can free developers from adding complex LLDP stacks to their switches for IEEE802.3at-compliance.

The PD64001 can be used to power both IEEE802.3at and IEEE802.3af powered devices in its default application. Using an external FET, the PD64001 can also the used for the implementation of low-cost IEEE802.3af compliant solutions, without the need for classification. Its external FET and sense resistor allow not only flexibility in the design but also dissipate 1/5 of the power of competing solutions, while still keeping a very small footprint.

Product Availability

The PD64001 is sampling now and will be in production in Q1 2008. The PD-IM-7301 evaluation board which demonstrates the PD64001 functionality is available today.