Hsinchu, Taiwan Feb. 17, 2006 ASIX Electronics Corp. today announced the sample availability of its newly developed low-pin-count (64-pin LQFP) industrial-grade (-40℃~85℃) non-PCI Ethernet controller, AX88796B, for the Embedded and Industrial Ethernet applications. The AX88796B is the latest member being added to the ASIX Embedded Networking product portfolio. Using AX88796B with microcontroller, designers can provide Ethernet connectivity to the embedded systems to distribute data and control remotely over the network.

With the tiny footprint in package size the AX88796B simplifies the system design and reduces the overall PCB space. In addition to supporting commercial temperature grade (0℃~70℃), ASIX also provides a separate industrial temperature grade version targeted for applications which need extended operating temperature range (-40℃~85℃). Also, the AX88796B supports Twisted Pair Crossover Detection and Auto-Correction, which allows both the straight-through and crossover cables to be directly connected to the device without end user guess work.

Because of its ease of use, low-cost, high-throughput, and seamlessly interoperating with existing computer network, the Ethernet is a very attractive infrastructure technology to expand beyond the SOHO networking and Enterprise space. There is a growing awareness of the need for a network in the home that can easily distribute and share the high quality digital video and audio content among different home devices. Ethernet is also expanding into industrial applications on the factory floor.

The AX88796B is targeted for home appliances, factory/building automation, industrial equipments, security systems, remote control/monitoring/management, and streaming media applications such as POS, WLAN AP, Broadband Router, IP Camera, content distribution, VoIP, IP STB, digital video recorder, DVD recorder/player, high definition TV, digital media client/server, home gateway, and IPTV, etc

About AX88796B

The AX88796B supports 8/16-bit SRAM-like host interface, providing a glue-less connection to most common embedded MCUs. The AX88796B integrates on-chip Fast Ethernet MAC and PHY, which is IEEE802.3 10Base-T and IEEE802.3u 100Base-TX compatible, and 8Kx16 bits embedded SRAM for packet buffering to accommodate high bandwidth applications. The AX88796B has a wide array of features including support for Twisted Pair Crossover Detection and Auto-Correction, Wake-on-LAN power management, and IEEE 802.3x and backpressure flow control. The AX88796B supports two operating temperature ranges, namely, commercial grade from 0 to 70 蚓 and industrial grade from ?0 to 85 蚓. The small form factor of 64-pin LQFP package helps reduce the overall PCB space. The programming of AX88796B is simple and compatible with NE2000, so the users don? need any modification and can easily port the software drivers to many embedded systems very quickly. Combining these features with ASIX? free TCP/IP software stack for 8-bit microcontrollers, AX88796B provides the best Ethernet solution for embedded networking applications.

Availability

Limited samples for the AX88796B non-PCI Ethernet controller is available now, and volume production is scheduled in April 2006. The chips are offered in standard and RoHS compliant versions.

About ASIX

ASIX Electronics Corporation specializes in network connectivity solutions and provides Ethernet-centric silicon products such as non-PCI Ethernet controller, USB2.0 to Ethernet NIC controller, and Gigabit switch for embedded networking applications. ASIX offers the system designers the best mix of performance vs. cost for the embedded connectivity solutions. ASIX is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan with distributors in Benelux, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

For more information on the ASIX AX88796B, please contact us via e-mail: sales@asix.com.tw, web: www.asix.com.tw.