Microchip added 10BASE-T1S parts it said can drop gateways from zonal networks

Microchip Technology said on September 29 that it had expanded its 10BASE-T1S single-pair Ethernet range with the LAN8679 and LAN8680 transceivers and the LAN8660X, LAN8661X and LAN8662X family of endpoints with integrated transceivers. The company said the parts were designed to support next-generation zonal architectures and are engineered to meet AEC-Q100 and ISO 26262 functional safety standards, building on its VelocityDRIVE portfolio.

The LAN8679 provides an Open Alliance 3-Pin interface in an 8-pin VDFN package, which Microchip said reduces pin count and design complexity for space-constrained edge nodes. The LAN8680 adds System Basis Chip functions: power management, system wake and sleep control, and watchdog supervision. The endpoint family integrates a transceiver into a single-chip Remote Control Protocol device, which the company said lets designers build edge nodes for control, lighting and audio without external physical-layer components.

Microchip’s central claim rests on the multidrop topology 10BASE-T1S allows. It said that letting multiple nodes — typically eight or more — share a single bus line reduces wiring weight, lowers system cost and eliminates the need for gateways, connecting sensors and actuators directly to the network edge. Charlie Forni, corporate vice president of the company’s networking and connectivity business unit, described the parts as advancing all-Ethernet network architectures.

All of the announced devices are available in limited sampling. Microchip named automotive zonal architecture, industrial automation, robotics, and aerospace and defense as target applications.