Parade Technologies PS8936 PCIe/CXL Re-Timer Solution with Low Latencies

Parade Technologies, Ltd. has demonstrated the lowest latencies in the industry with its PS8936 PCIe/CXL re-timer solution.

PS8936 retimer chip developed for PCIe Rev. 5.0 and Compute Express Link (CXL), supporting 16 bidirectional lanes. In addition to supporting the 32Gb/s data rate offered by the PCIe 5.0 spec, it also supports all lower data rates, to provide backward compatibility with earlier PCIe revisions.

The PS8936 is the PCIe Gen 5 retimer addition to the company’s PS8926 and PS8925 PCIe 4.0 16-lane and 4-lane retimer family currently in production, and the PS8570 PCIe 4.0 4-channel linear redriver, which is currently sampling. The PS8936 is in compliance with the PCIe 5.0 spec and has been tested in multiple OEM systems and PCIe 5.0 CPU platforms. It is designed for use in enterprise systems including compute servers, accelerators, and storage, as well as high-performance workstations. Retimers are required to maintain signal integrity in these systems which often include longer PCB traces, connectors, and cables. The doubling of data rate that PCIe 5.0 offers compared to PCIe 4.0 only increases the challenge of error-free signal propagation. This is why retimers are an integral part of the PCIe 5.0 spec and system implementations.

“The promise of CXL is to enable scalable, high-performance coherent memory,” said Jimmy Chiu, EVP, marketing. “While CXL can rely on the continual advances in PCIe to address its ever-increasing bandwidth needs, access time is an equally critical factor for memory performance. As larger CXL architectures are built, they will inevitably encounter situations where signal integrity places limits on both scale and flexibility, and retimers will be needed. With Parade’s patented low-latency retimers, these systems can be built without compromising signal integrity or performance.”

Including both adaptive CTLE and DFE equalization allows the PS8936 to compensate for up to 36dB channel loss at Nyquist frequencies. And, in addition to supporting PCIe spec-compliant retimer operation for both common and separate (SRIS/SRNS) clocking configurations, PS8936 features a bit-level retiming mode, activated automatically and regardless of link partners, that provides a near-zero latency path for all data transfers.

The PS8936 is available in an 8.9×22.8mm 354-ball BGA package and is sampling, offering support for -40°C to +85°C ambient temperature range.