The PS8936 is a bidirectional, 16-lane retimer (using a total of 32 data channels) that supports PCIe® (PCI Express®) Gen 5, with data rates up to 32Gbps.  It is low-latency capable and is ideal for applications incorporating high lane count PCIe bus widths such as workstations and enterprise data center systems including storage and servers. Ultra-low latency feature also enables its support for CXL 2.0 Alt mode that helps customer to achieve sharing memory for higher performance, less-complexity of software stack and lower system cost.

As a retimer, the PS8936 removes unwanted and potentially error-inducing signal distortion introduced by cross-talk or system noise, or from physical interface loss including PCIe interconnect cables, PCB traces, and connectors.  The device enhances data transmission reliability and enables longer PCIe interconnect cables and/or PCB traces, enabling system scalability. The embedded AC caps at transmitter lanes helps customer to save BOM cost, an embedded MPU provides a robust method for monitoring link status.

Key Features

  • PCI Express 5.0 spec compliant retimer
  • Supports PCI Express operation at 2.5GT/s, 5GT/s, 8GT/s, 16GT/s and 32GT/s
  • Supports 16 bidirectional lanes with 32 channels
  • Low power consumption
  • Adaptive equalization to compensate up to 36dB channel loss
  • Supports three configurable operation modes
    • FPR, Full Protocol Retimer
    • LLM, Intel’s Low Latency Mode
    • PABR, Protocol Aware Bit-level Retimer
  • Per channel voltage and timing margining
  • Supports link bifurcation 1×16, 2×8, 4×4, and 8×2.
  • Autonomous segmented link training
  • No external AC caps needed for transmitters
  • Supports CXL 2.0 Alt mode
  • Built-in MPU for link status monitoring
  • Built-in temperature sensor
  • PWM signal output for data rate indication
  • Near zero latency in low latency mode(LLM) and PABR mode
  • Supports SRIS/SRNS clocking
  • Supports lane reversal and hot plug
  • Supports SMBus/I2C configuration and external EEPROM configuration
  • 8 selectable addresses for SMBus/I2C control
  • Supports power saving states, L1 (standby) & L1PM (sleep)
  • Supports JTAG debug port, Follow IEEE 1149.1 & IEEE 1149.6
  • 0.9V and 1.8V power supplies
  • 8.9mm x 22.8mm 354-ball BGA package
  • -40°C to 85°C Operating Temperature Range

Applications

  • Servers
  • Data Center and Storage
  • Workstations