Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
Application Note
This application note provides a design reference for customers wishing to implement 100BASETX systems, using QFEXr™ for the PHY hardware. An overview of QFEXr is included, but for further
detailed information, refer to the individual QFEXr data sheets. Although system design details such
as interfacing QFEXr to repeaters and proper board design and layout with QFEXr are provided,
only a few general high-speed design and general layout rules are addressed. Other sources of information for PHY layout and high-speed designs are listed in the References section.
INTRODUCTION
In response to the need for higher bandwidth than that
provided by 10BASE-T, the IEEE committee defined a
100-Mbps standard (100BASE-X), borrowing PHY
technology from the existing FDDI standard. This 100Mbps standard, also known as Fast Ethernet, offered
a 1 0 - t i m e s gr e a t e r s p e e d u s i n g t w i s t e d p a i r
(100BASE-TX) and fiber (100BASE-FX) for almost
equivalent cost to 10BASE-T.
100BASE-TX defines transmission of data over UTP
Category 5 cable and defines layers of functionality
implemented to support 100-Mbps communication. A
layer of particular interest is the physical (PHY) layer
which defines the technology required to convert line
signals into frames of data that other layers beyond
the PHY layer can use. The PHY layer connects to
hardware such as network cards, switches, and repeaters. This application note will focus on repeaters
and PHY connectivity.
AMD recently introduced the first member of its PHY
family, the QFEXr device. The QFEXr device is a fourport physical layer device used for 100BASE-X repeater applications.
100BASE-TX REPEATERS
Designing 100BASE-TX repeaters is similar to designing 10BASE-T repeaters over the same twisted pair interface. The differences in designing 100BASE-TX vs.
10BASE-T repeaters are a 10 times jump in data rates
from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, the method of data decoding/encoding, and the availability of a Signal Detect
function for link integrity. These features make
100BASE-TX more intricate than 10BASE-T, but
100BASE-TX repeater designs can provide benefits of
higher data bandwidth for significantly less than 10
times cost.
As shown in Figure 1, a repeater and a PHY layer are
needed to realize a 100BASE-TX repeater design.
Figure 1 shows the components of a 100BASE-T repeater. Note that the repeater is part of the Physical
layer of the OSI model. To convert this into a 100BASETX system, the Medium and Medium Dependent Interface (MDI)become a twisted pair interface.
The PHY is comprised of three to four sublayers: the
Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS), Physical Medium Attachment (PMA), Physical Medium Dependent (PMD),
and, optionally, the Auto-Negotiation sublayer.
Note: The Auto-Negotiation sublayer is not required in
the 100 Mbps-only repeater designs.
Although the PHY can seamlessly attach to the repeater, as shown in Figure 1, this is not the case with
current market implementations, where only separate
PHY and repeater devices are available. Therefore, an
interface is required to connect the PHY to the repeater, and the most commonly used interface is the
Medium Independent Interface (MII). The MII is also
defined by the 100BASE-X standard and provides a
level of compatibility between all silicon solutions today.
An MII interface and its relation to the PHY is shown in
Figure 2.
Using the MII allows an easy connection of any repeater with the MII interface to any PHY or other silicon
device that also has an MII interface.
This document contains information on a product under development at Advanced Micro Devices. The information
is intended to help you evaluate this product. AMD reserves the right to change or discontinue work on this proposed
product without notice.
Publication# 21176 Rev: B Amendment/0
Issue Date: July 1997
OSI
REFERENCE
MODEL LAYERS
LAN
CSMA/CD
LAYERS
APPLICATION
PRESENTATION
SESSION
TRANSPORT
100BASE-T
Baseband
Repeater Unit
NETWORK
DATA LINK
PCS
PHYSICAL
100BASE-T
Baseband
Repeater Set
PCS
PMA
PMD
PMA
PHY
PMD
AUTONEG*
MDI
PHY
AUTONEG*
MDI
MEDIUM
MEDIUM
100 Mbps Link Segment
100 Mbps Link Segment
MDI = Medium Dependent Interface
PCS = Physical Coding Sublayer
PMA = Physical Medium Attachment
PHY = Physical Layer Device
PMD = Physical Medium Dependent
*AUTONEG not required for 100BASE-TX only.
21176B-1
Figure 1. Repeater and PHY layers
2
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
QFEX Family
OSI
REFERENCE
MODEL LAYERS
The QFEXr device is AMD’s silicon solution to address
the PHY layer for 100BASE-X applications. The QFEXr
device is a CMOS device that implements the PCS and
PMA layers for four 100BASE-X ports, as shown in
Figure 3.
LAN
CSMA/CD
LAYERS
APPLICATION
PRESENTATION
HIGHER LAYERS
SESSION
LLC - LOGICAL LINK CONTROL
TRANSPORT
MAC - MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL
The QFEXr device also offers the following features:
RECONCILIATION
NETWORK
MII
DATA LINK
— Programmable Carrier Integrity Monitor (CIM)
for False Carrier event handling
PCS
PHYSICAL
PMA
PHY
PMD
— Quad integrated Digital CMOS 100-Mbps clock
recovery circuit
AUTONEG*
MDI
— Optional scrambler/descrambler functions
MEDIUM
— Programmable Loopback modes
100 Mbps
— Programmable LED support
MDI = Medium Dependent Interface
MII = Media Independent Interface
— Far End Fault support
PCS = Physical Coding Sublayer
— TX or FX support
PMA = Physical Medium Attachment
PHY = Physical Layer Device
PMD = Physical Medium Dependent
*AUTONEG not required for 100BASE-TX only.
21176B-2
Figure 2. MII interface
100BASE-TX/FX
Switch
or Repeater
Repeater
(Note: Shared MII for QFEXr)
MII
(Media
Independent
Interface)
MII MUX Circuitry
PCS0
PCS1
PCS2
PCS3
PMA0
PMA1 PMA2
PMA3
QFEX (in Shared MII Mode)
or QFEXr
MLT-3 Array
PMD
MDI
(Media
Dependent
Interface)
Magnetics Modules
Medium
21176B-3
(Cat5 UTP, STP or Fiber)
Figure 3. Repeater, MII/PCS/PMA (outlined by QFEXr), PMD, MDI layers for 4 ports
The QFEXr device does not offer a PMD layer, but AMD
has a relationship with Pulse Engineering to provide
the necessary MLT-3 and magnetics support for twisted
pair interfacing. The QFEXr device is available in a 100pin version.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
3
MII and Repeater Interface
There are two ways to interface a repeater or MAC to a
PHY device. The standard way is using the MII interface, described in the 100BASE-X standard. The other
method is using the standard 5-bit symbol interface,
which will be described shortly.
The MII interface provides the basic signals needed to
perform the necessary handshaking for the repeater
and PHY to link and transfer data. Eighteen signals
control the receive, transmit, and management processes. The 100BASE-X Reconciliation layer then
converts these signals into primitive directives (data
request and indication, carrier indication, and signal
indication) that inform the PHY of what’s happening
across the interface.
The QFEXr device offers a Shared MII port. In repeaters, data is received on one port and is broadcast
through the other ports. Pin count is greatly reduced,
as seen in the 100-pin QFEXr package.
With this Shared MII, connecting four PHY ports to
the repeater is much simpler than connecting four
separate MII ports. The connection to the repeater
through the MII port requires no glue logic, except for
passives required for AC termination and reduction of
high-speed effects.
100 Mbps
Repeater
100 BASE-TX
Repeater
4-port
Non-shared
MII Signals
4-port
Shared
MII Signals
MII
QFEXr
Shared MII
Circuitry
PMD
100
BASE-X
UTP
MDC
MDIO
RX_CLK
RX_ER
RX_DV
TX_CLK
RXD[3:0]
TXD[3:0]
TX_ER[3:0]
PMA0 PMA1 PMA2 PMA3
TX_EN[3:0]
PCS3
COL[3:0]
PCS2
CRS[3:0]
PCS0 PCS1
QFEXr
Medium
21176B-4
Figure 4. QFEXr Connection to Repeater (using Shared MII Interface)
As seen in Figure 4, the connection to the repeater
through the MII port requires no glue logic, except for
passives required for AC termination and reduction of
high-speed effects.
For transmitting, the TXD[3:0] bus is connected directly
to the repeater, as are the transmit enable signals,
TX_EN[3:0]. The QFEXr device provides the option for
4
using TX_CLK or system CLK as the internal timing reference. So, TX_CLK may or may not be used. TX_ER
from the repeater is tied to all four TX_ER signals on
the QFEXr device to inform all ports of any possible
transmission error.
When receiving, the RXD[3:0] bus is connected directly
to the repeater, and the ENRCV[3:0] (port receive
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
enable) signals are connected to RXE inputs on the
repeater. RX_DV, RX_CLK and RX_ER all connect directly to the repeater.
Note: Buffering may be needed for bussed signals if
implementing four independent MII ports, and clock
synchronization may be required to drive the four
RX_CLK signals to ensure minimal clock skew.
Finally, CRS and COL lines connect directly to the
repeater, as well as the management lines (MDC and
MDIO). Buffering is also recommended for driving multiple management lines if using the four independent
MII port mode.
Application Example: Interfacing to NSC 100RIC
To demonstrate the benefits of the shared MII interface,
the following text explains how to design a repeater
using the QFEXr device. The repeater used is National
Semiconductor’s 100RIC (DP83850), a 12-port repeater.
This sample design requires three QFEXr devices to
be connected to the 100RIC’s MII port. Figure 5
shows the logical connection between the QFEXr devices and the 100RIC.
(From System Clock)
CLK
TXD[3:0]
RXD[3:0]
RXC
RX_DV
RX_ER
TX_ER
TX_RDY
100RIC
signals
N/C
N/C
N/C
CLK
TXD[3:0]
RXD[3:0]
RX_CLK
RX_DV
RX_ER
TX_ER[3:0]
TX_CLK
COL[3:0]
Signals to/from
all QFEXr IC's
TXE[11:8]
TXE[7:4]
TXE[3:0]
TX_EN[11:8] (QFEXr 3)
TX_EN[7:4] (QFEXr 2)
TX_EN[3:0] (QFEXr 1)
CRS[11:8]
CRS[7:4]
CRS[3:0]
CRS[11:8] (QFEXr 3)
CRS[7:4] (QFEXr 2)
CRS[3:0] (QFEXr 1)
RXE[11:8]
RXE[7:4]
RXE[3:0]
ENRCV[11:8] (QFEXr 3)
ENRCV[7:4] (QFEXr 2)
ENRCV[3:0] (QFEXr 1)
Signals to/from
each QFEXr IC
21176B-5
Figure 5. Sample Application: Multiple QFEXr Connections to NSC 100RIC
A 12-port repeater is a straightforward design using
three QFEXr devices and the 100RIC. There is no extra
logic required, except for optional buffers which can be
used to ensure drive capability in all circumstances. For
ease of display, the signals are separated into two
types: those signals to/from all QFEXr devices, and
those to/from each QFEXr device.
Common signals from the 100RIC to all QFEXr devices
are TXD[3:0], RXD[3:0], CLK, RX_CLK, RX_DV,
RX_ER and TX_ER. Thus, each QFEXr device receives that group of signals from the 100RIC. Some
100RIC outputs will drive multiple inputs, such as
TX_ER, which will connect to 12 QFEXr TX_ER signals. It is possible to drive these inputs without buffers.
Also, some 100RIC inputs will receive multiple QFEXr
outputs, such as RXD[3:0], RX_CLK and RX_DV in a
multiple QFEXr system. However, there is limited
cause for concern regarding fanout, since only one port
and, therefore, only one QFEXr device will be transmitting to the 100RIC at any one time. In the event of a collision (one port transmits while another receives
simultaneously), the PHY (QFEXr) will notify the
100RIC with a JAM sequence (repeated out to all
ports), but still only one QFEXr device will be using the
bus at any one time. In this example, the system clock
is used instead of TX_CLK. The 100RIC does not have
collision indication inputs and cannot support
COL[3:0]. Both LCK (100RIC) and the three CLK
(QFEXr) signals are driven by a buffered system clock.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
5
Signals to each QFEXr device means that those respective signals are mapped 1:1 on each device. So,
100RIC TXE[7:4] signals are mapped directly to the
QFEXr device 2 signals TX_EN[3:0], or in the system,
to logical signals TX_EN[7:4]. CRS signals map directly from QFEXr devices to the 100RIC. The QFEXr
ENRCV signals are not directly part of the MII standard interface in the 100BASE-X standard, but connect directly to the 100RIC’s RXE signals. It is
possible to add buffers to increase the drive of each
pin, but it is not required.
Following the descrambler block, received data is
aligned and decoded. Encoding and decoding is performed using the 4B/5B code-group algorithms.
Decoding 5-bit PCS code groups into 4-bit MII groups
effectively reduces the 125-Mbps physical channel rate
to a 100-Mbps physical layer interface. The reverse
happens for transmission. Here, JK and TR delimiter
pairs are added (for transmission) or removed (for receive) from the packet when the data packet is aligned.
Refer to the 100BASE-X standard or the QFEXr data
sheet for the code-group mapping tables.
As a final note, it is highly recommended to provide AC termination on most signal lines. If a signal fans out to multiple
devices, each trace should be terminated accordingly.
Once the data is decoded and converted into 4-bit nibbles, it is passed on to the MII interface on RXD[3:0] to
the repeater. All other MII signals, such as RX_ER and
RX_DV, are set appropriately.
Driving Multiple PHY’s
Buffers may be needed to create large unmanaged repeaters using the QFEXr device. In a sample 12-port
design, three QFEXr devices can share common signals without significant drive degradation, but to provide additional drive capability, reasonably fast buffers
should be used.
RXD[3:0], RX_ER (Symbol Mode)
RX_CLK
RXD[3:0]
(MII Mode)
PCS
The PCS lies below the MII interface. It is in charge of
the following functions in 100BASE-X:
— Encoding and decoding MII data nibbles to and
from 5-bit code groups. This is accomplished by
using the 4B/5B algorithms.
— Generating Carrier Sense and Collision Detection indications.
— Serialization and deserialization of code groups
for transmission and reception on the underlying
PMA layer.
4B/5B Decoder
Receive
State
Machine
5
Code Align
5
Descrambler
— Mapping of Transmit, Receive, Carrier Sense
and Collision Detection between the MII and the
underlying PMA layer.
The QFEXr device implements the PCS layer per the
100BASE-X standard and also add a scrambler/descrambler block to complete the PCS functions, as
shown in Figures 6 and 7.
On receipt of data, after it has passed through the PMA
layer (clock recovery, see below), the serial data is deserialized and passed on as a 5-bit entity to the descrambler block. Scrambling and descrambling is
offered on the QFEXr device as a means of reducing
EMI peaks in the radiated signal (data) caused by repetitive patterns of 0’s and 1’s. Scrambling is done by
adding the output of a random number generator to the
data signal. The descrambler does the reverse process
for received data. The scrambler/descrambler function
can be set to minimize emissions as needed on the
QFEXr device.
6
5
Deserializer
PDX
Clock Recovery
SDI±
SDI+/–
RX±
RX+/–
21176B-6
Figure 6. QFEXr Receive Path
Figure 7 illustrates the transmission process through
the QFEXr device from the MII. Data is received on
TXD[3:0], encoded into 5-bit PCS code groups,
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
aligned, scrambled (if necessary), and serialized for
the PMA layer.
Loopback modes within the PCS block are available in
the QFEXr device as follows:
— From MII {TX_ER, TXD[3:0]} to {RX_ER,
RXD[3:0]
— From the 4B/5B encoder output to the 5B/4B decoder input (after code alignment)
— From the scrambler output to the descrambler
input
TX_CLK
TXD[3:0], TX_ER
(Symbol Mode)
TXD[3:0]
(MII Mode)
Transmit
State
Machine
Loopback modes within the PMA block are available in
the QFEXr device as follows:
5
— From the 5-bit data output to the 5-bit data input
inside the PDX block
Scrambler
TX_CLK
CLK
When receiving, data coming into the RX± inputs is
streamed into the PDX, which recovers the clock and
then uses the clock to recover the data. The data, in an
unframed 5-bit symbol, is then sent up to the PCS level
for further operations. The PDX is capable of recovering data correctly within ±1000 ppm of the 25 MHz
clock signal.
Carrier Detect, Link Monitor, and Far End Fault Detect
and Generate functions are also provided by the
QFEXr device. Refer to the 100BASE-X standard for
details on these functions.
4B/5B Encoder
/J/K/ Insertion
TX_EN
to NRZI format, and shifted to the TX ± outputs at
PECL-compatible signal levels. The PDX uses system
CLK as the frequency and phase reference to generate the serial link data rate. Thus, the PDX requires a
continuous external reference that it can derive its internal clock from, which is multiplied by 5 to generate
the 125 Mbps channel rate. The external reference
clock must meet 100BASE-X frequency and stability
requirements (±50 ppm).
5
— From the PDX serial output to the PDX serial
input
PDX
Serializer
Carrier Integrity Monitor
TX±
TX+/–
21176A-7
21176B-7
Figure 7. QFEXr Transmit Path
PMA
The PMA layer lies below the PCS interface. It is in
charge of the following functions in 100BASE-X:
— Clock recovery from the NRZI data provided by
the PMD
— Mapping of transmit and receive code-bits
tween the PMA’s client and the PMD
be-
— Optionally, generating indication of carrier activity and carrier errors from the PMD
— Optionally, sensing receive channel failures, and
detecting and transmitting the Far End Fault
Indication (FEFI)
The QFEXr device uses an all digital CMOS core for
clock recovery called the Physical Data Transceiver
(PDX).
In transmit, after passing through the PCS, the 5-bit
symbol is clocked into the PDX, serialized, converted
To protect the repeater from spurious fault conditions
as well as preserve communications, the 100BASE-X
standard has included features that should be implemented in the various PHY layers, including FEFI, link
monitor, and CIM. Fault conditions can be caused by
faulty wiring and disconnected/connected wires.
The CIM is specified as a feature the repeater provides
(Clause 27). The CIM detects certain faults like the
False Carrier and informs the repeater. A False Carrier
is an indication of activity on the line, but is not a valid
packet of data (any carrier event that does not begin
with a valid start of stream delimiter). The repeater will
issue a Jam sequence (a series of 3s and 4s in hexadecimal) to all ports (except the receiver) and to the MII
to inform the ports of the false carrier and that nothing
should be received until the false carrier ends, or the
false carrier timer times out. If a successive false carrier signal follows, the receiving port is partitioned.
The CIM is part of the PMA interface and is the responsibility of the repeater PMA to count false carrier events
and implement the necessary requirements per the
100BASE-X repeater section of the standard.
Many 100-Mbps repeater devices available today lack
the CIM feature, and it has fallen on the part of the PHY
device vendors to provide an interim solution. The
QFEXr device offers a full CIM feature for repeaters
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
7
without CIM capability. The CIM function is implemented on a per port basis and can be turned off if the
repeater has its own CIM function.
PMD
The PMD sublayer lies below the PMA and was originally derived from the FDDI standard. Thus, it has been
defined to support 125-Mbps fiber and shielded and
unshielded twisted pair media. The PMD basically
translates the NRZI-coded data to and from signals
suitable for the specified medium, which is in this case
twisted pair. 100BASE-TX data must be transmitted
using at least Category 5 UTP. The QFEXr device can
transmit data to MLT-3 and fiberoptic transceivers over
the TX±, RX±, and SDI± pins.
MLT-3 Transmission
For twisted pair, data translation is accomplished most
often by using MLT-3 (Multilevel Transmission - 3
Level). MLT-3 is very similar to NRZI, except that it adds
a third level of voltage to represent the data. Thus,
where NRZI data falls between 0V and a predetermined limit of V, MLT-3 data can be any of 3 levels: 0,
+V and -V. MLT-3 uses a fundamental frequency onehalf that of NRZI. With that, MLT-3 achieves data transmission at the same data rate but with lower spectral
energy (e.g., lower EMI emissions) than NRZI. Often,
MLT-3 is further combined with scrambling to eliminate
repetitive patterns in the data that causes more peaks
in the EMI spectrum.
When designing for MLT-3, the following several considerations must be attended to, due to the type of
media being used:
— Adaptive Equalization
— Baseline restoration
— Transmit Conditioning
Adaptive equalization is a key feature in MLT-3. Data
transmitted over twisted pair wire can suffer much attenuation (signal loss) or experience varying amounts
of attenuation, due to different frequency components
of the signal itself, as well as cable length. When the
signal is received, the device has to reconstruct the
original signal and somehow overcome this loss. Adaptive equalization enables the MLT-3 device to compensate for this loss and for varying cable lengths by
analyzing the incoming signal and adjusting the equalizer accordingly.
Baseline restoration is another key feature required
for MLT-3. A problem with data transmission is baseline wander, which is described as DC drifts in the incoming signal baseline wander that may occur due to
data pattern dependent DC shifts and the inherent low
frequency bandwidth of the channel and AC coupling
transformers. If not corrected, the droop component of
the transformers dominates and “drags” the signal
8
amplitude down below baseline so as to cause data
errors or link failure. Baseline restoration circuitry
compensates for this wander by comparing the incoming signal with a reconstructed reference. The difference is filtered and used to affect low frequency
compensation in order to maintain the equalized signal at the reference level.
Transmit conditioning includes providing the correct
transmit amplitude at the TX outputs, as well as generating output waveforms synchronized in timing with
minimal jitter effects.
Figure 8 shows the QFEXr connection to MLT-3 and
magnetics components for 100BASE-TX applications.
The QFEXr device has a DIS_MLT3 pin that can be
used to enable the MLT-3 interface whether needed or
not. Although the QFEXr device does not implement
MLT-3, AMD has an alliance with Pulse Engineering to
provide MLT-3 support for the QFEXr device. Refer to
the References section for more information. Other
MLT-3 vendors include National Semiconductor, Micro
Linear, and GEC Plessey.
PMD Magnetics
As in 10BASE-T, magnetics solutions are still needed
to provide isolation between the cable and the PHY
layer. Available magnetics modules also support FDDI,
ATM, and 100BASE-TX over unshielded (UTP Category 5) and shielded twisted pair (STP). The modules
are mainly used to provide isolation for data transmission from the cables. Most modules are comprised of
any combination of filters, transformers, and chokes for
common mode rejection, but filters and chokes are optional and can be obtained separately. They provide
high voltage isolation (ESD protection @ 2 KV), wide
bandwidth, and fast rise times.
An important point to note is to follow termination
guidelines as recommended by the magnetics manufacturer. This is interpreted as a combination of resistors and decoupling capacitors and proper grounding
on non-data lines (including centertaps) used to reduce common mode noise, that provides significant
reduction in EMI and noise susceptibility. Center tap
connections can typically provide a 10 dB improvement in common mode rejection. Often, the magnetics module can be the savior for a 100-Mbps system
to pass FCC tests, which is much more sensitive than
a 10-Mbps system.
The magnetics modules connect to the RJ-45 interface
and to the transceiver device through the RD-to-RX
and TD-to-TX signals. Proper termination and impedance matching to MLT-3 devices is often provided in application notes of the transceiver vendor. Their
guidelines need to be followed carefully to obtain the
best performance from cable to PHY.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
Shared
MII Interface
21
TXD[3:0]
72, 84, 95, 8
89
32, 31, 30, 29
26, 25, 24, 23
TX_ER[3:0]
COL[3:0]
Repeater
RXD[3:0]
75, 87, 6, 20
37, 39
TX0+/–
42, 44
RX0 +/–
40, 41
SDI0 +/–
73, 85, 1, 15
45, 47
TX1+/–
74, 86, 2, 16
50, 52
RX1+/–
48, 49
SDI1+/–
53, 55
TX2+/–
9, 10, 11, 12
RX_DV
QFEXr
17
RX_CLK
RX_ER
MDC
MDIO
LED[3:0]
76, 88, 7, 22
TX_EN[3:0]
CRS[3:0]
FLS_CRS[3:0]
58, 60
RX2+/–
18
56, 57
SDI2+/–
19
61, 63
TX3+/–
98
66, 68
RX3+/–
97
64, 65
SDI3+/–
93, 92, 91, 90
69
70
ENCIM
ENRCV[3:0]
34
DIS_MLT3
33
LPBCK
MLT-3
Array
Port 0
TXO_0+/–
Port 1
RXI_0+/–
TXO_1+/–
RXI_1+/–
Port 2
TXO_2+/–
RXI_2+/–
RJ-45
TX_CLK
CLK
Magnetics
25 MHz
OSC
TXO_3+/–
Port 3
RXI_3+/–
DISSCR
DVDD
DVSS
21176B-8
Note: Required pullup/pulldown resistors and MLT-3 details are not shown. Consult MLT-3 vendor for recommendations.
Figure 8. QFEXr Connection to MLT-3 and Magnetics Components for 100BASE-TX
GENERAL CIRCUIT DESIGN AND LAYOUT
GUIDELINES
High speed design is always a tricky issue, and it becomes critical to follow basic guidelines in order to ensure a clean design.
To optimize a design for the QFEXr device, designers
must follow basic rules in layout and placement, decoupling and isolation, clock and oscillator considerations,
general terminations, power supply filtering and plane
partitioning, and finally, EMI considerations. The combination of these rules will contribute greatly to a proper
functioning 100-Mbps repeater system. Above all, suggestions from PHY, transceiver and magnetics vendors
should be followed when designing a specific solution.
Parts Recommendations
■ Resistors should be 1% tolerance.
■ Capacitors:
— For low frequency and large value decoupling,
use electrolytic capacitors.
— For high frequency and small value decoupling,
use X7R and C0G capacitors.
■ R e c o m m e n d e d fe r r i t e b e a d s a r e Fa i r R i t e
274-3019-446.
■ Fully Shielded RJ-45 8-position jacks.
Placement and Layout
Placement and layout are the key components of board
design. Much care if given to performing these tasks
properly ensures a good design. Noise, ringing, transmission lines, and other factors have to be controlled.
Data lines should have a controlled impedance and be
properly terminated, and power supply pins should be
protected by proper filtering techniques. All PC traces
should be treated as transmission lines with continuous
ground or power planes beneath each trace.
Placement of the QFEXr PHY device should be symmetrical with respect to the repeater device. This will
provide more equal trace length to each PHY and
counteract most timing/skew problems, especially with
synchronization of the clock to all clock-based components. The QFEXr devices should also be close to the
repeater or buffers to minimize trace length and excessive line ringing, due to high-speed data transfers.
Proper termination should be used.
When placing decoupling components, traces should be
kept as short as possible, especially for the transceiver
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
9
interface. Short traces minimize noise interference.
These components, if using many transceivers, should
be placed symmetrically across the board to avoid uneven parasitic loading. It is preferred to have decoupling
components on the same side as the device, to avoid
routing via through different planes and having components on the solder side, as well as absorbing noise from
different planes.
Other general guidelines for signal trace routing include
the following:
— Only differential pair signals should be run parallel to each other, since they provide a canceling effect on noise. However, (non-differential)
parallel traces tend to induce crosstalk. Differential signal traces should be as short and direct as possible.
— 90˚ trace corners should be minimized. Bevel
them at a 45-degree angle or as appropriate
(chamfered or radiused approach). Differential
pairs will require equal trace length, even with
45-degree angle traces. Sharp edges add parasitic effects that translate into minute impedance
mismatches. At high frequencies, additional
charge accumulation causes an increase in capacitance at the corners of the trace bend, which
results in a concentration of electric fields.
— Minimize the number of vias for any one given
signal trace. It is recommended that the signal
trace remain only on one plane (component or
solder) or go directly into the power or ground
layer (if it is a power/ground signal). As vias pass
through layers, the impedance of the trace
changes and it is difficult to maintain constant
impedance after the via.
— Traces carrying large amounts of current should
be thicker than normal signal traces. Otherwise,
the traces may be easily burned out by current
overloads.
— Maintain constant trace lengths to avoid impedance mismatch and reflections.
— Avoid long traces, as they generate and pick up
radiated noise from around the board. They also
tend to be a common source of crosstalk.
The system designer can add extra pads that are capacitor/resistor-sized so that components can be easily
added during the debug stage. The same applies to
IC’s, where some 14/16/18-pin package pads can be
placed on the board to accommodate any changes during the debug stage.
To reduce EMI emissions, the following rules should be
observed for board layout:
— The PCB should be multi-layer (4 to 6 layers),
with individual power and ground sublayers for
best high frequency and EMI performance.
10
Component traces can be run on the component
and solder sides, but preferably only on the component side, unless it is absolutely critical to
place decoupling components underneath devices. The power and ground layers should be in
the inner layers of the PCB.
— Proper ground and power plane partitioning (see
below) should be followed, as per recommendations from transceiver vendors.
— Use shielded components wherever possible.
This refers to RJ-45 jacks, with contacts to chassis ground.
— Proper termination of components and unused
(high speed) pairs in their common mode impedance (to chassis ground) to minimize cable reflections and common mode standing waves.
Follow transceiver vendor recommendations.
— When adding spacers to elevate the system
from the chassis, ensure that the screws are not
placed symmetrically (either straight rows/columns or diagonals) throughout the board. The
screws tend to act as antennas and create wave
harmonics that will affect the EMI testing.
Optionally, teflon screws can be used to support
the board.
Clock/Oscillator Considerations
The clock is an equally important device in repeater design, since it is from the main clock that any reference
clocks (TX_CLK, RX_CLK) are derived, and it is used
for the various PLLs. With a noisy clock signal, PLLs
(even QFEXr’s digital PLL) will have difficulty locking
onto the data packets.
Oscillators are recommended, in the metal can package, due to the shielding. They should be decoupled as
recommended by manufacturer’s guidelines.
Oscillators should be placed close to repeater and PHY
components, or if not possible, they should be placed
close to the repeater component, and same-length
traces should be used to the QFEXr devices. Traces
should be placed further away from other long traces.
General Rules On Termination
Termination of signals is a requirement in repeater design. Termination helps reduce ringing/cable reflections
and impedance mismatching. A variety of termination
networks are available, and manufacturer (PHY/
QFEXr, transceiver/MLT-3 and magnetics) recommendations should be heeded.
AC termination is needed to minimize high-speed reflections. This can be accomplished by placing a resistor in series with a capacitor to digital ground. This is
recommended on the following signals for the QFEXr
device: RXD[3:0], TXD[3:0], RX_DV, RX_ER, TX_ER,
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
RX_CLK, and TX_CLK. The effect of the termination
will also slow down any fast ramping CMOS signals.
If this noise is in the power supply lines, device and system performance is compromised.
Additionally, some QFEXr signals are pulled down with
weak pulldown resistors to pull down those signals
from a tristate level. RX_DV, RX_ER, and RX_CLK
should be pulled down with 20-KΩ resistors.
DVDD signals should be decoupled as closely as possible to the IC. Ferrite beads can be used to isolate
power planes (see the Plane Partitioning and EMI Considerations section), and an appropriate selection of
capacitors can be placed around the board to filter out
other frequencies. In general, 10-100 µF tantalum or
electrolytic capacitors filter line frequencies and act as
high speed filters. An additional ferrite bead can be
used to help the effectiveness of the capacitor on the
power input. 0.1 µF capacitors will help filter out higher
harmonics (100 MHz and higher).
Termination is also needed at the PECL level. Signal
traces should be effective 50-Ω transmission lines and
can be achieved using Thevenin termination or other
recommended schemes from transceiver and magnetics vendors.
Most PHYs, including the QFEXr, provide differential
Signal Detect (SD) pairs to the transceiver/MLT-3 devices. However, some MLT-3 devices do not offer differential SD pairs, and to counter this, designers should
follow transceiver vendor termination guidelines, where
the PHY SD signal is terminated with a different divider
network.
The unused pairs of the RJ-45 jacks should also be terminated to improve EMI performance. This can be
done in several ways, including 50-Ω resistors and RC
networks. Consult magnetics vendor application notes.
Power Supply: Decoupling and Filtering
Other recommendations are as follows:
■ 0.1 µF to 1.0 µF capacitors should be used for logic
decoupling
■ 0.01 µF to 0.1 µF capacitors should be used between each port’s power/ground signals
■ A large (10-30 µF) capacitor can be used between
the power and ground planes at the sides of the IC
package with many DVDD inputs
Use Table 1 to decouple the QFEXr power and ground
signals.
With a complicated high-speed design, noise can be
picked up and propagated easily through the devices.
Table 1. Decoupling Guidelines for QFEXr Devices
Signal
Name
Function
Decoupling
Capacitor Value
DVDD
Digital power supply
0.1 µF
DVDD_D
PDX power supply
0.01 µF
DVDD_Ex
PECL power supply
0.01 µF
DVSS
Ground
Notes
Connect to DVSS through decoupling capacitor.
Connect to DVSS_D through decoupling capacitor.
Recommend connecting to DVDD through Ferrite Bead.
Connect to DVSS_Ex through decoupling capacitor (x=0,1,2,3).
Recommend connecting to DVDD through Ferrite Bead.
Extra grounds connected to DVSS plane.
Plane Partitioning and EMI Considerations
100BASE-TX uses MLT-3 line coding (with a fundamental frequency of 32.5 MHz) to shift 90 percent of
spectral energy to below 40 MHz. Without it, most systems, even with good system design, would not be able
to pass standard EMI tests.
In general, digital areas should be partitioned from
analog areas, which are extremely sensitive to noise.
Digital signals alone suffer greatly since the fast switching times of digital components cause a significant
amount of energy to be dumped into power and ground
layers, generating significant overshoots and undershoots on the line. Any analog circuitry on the same
plane will also experience the energy fluctuation, which
can improperly bias the transistors, possibly causing
the circuits to malfunction.
A lowpass filter combination of a ferrite bead (inductor)
and capacitors provides a cleaner, filtered power plane
for analog considerations. Ferrite beads are more effective than coils. At DC, the ferrite bead acts as a
short, providing a low-resistance path for the power on
the analog plane. The unwanted higher frequency AC
noise sees the ferrites as inductors in a lowpass filter.
Ferrite beads generally allow an increase in impedance
as the frequency increases. Ferrite beads are quite
useful as filters. However, be aware that they do add
extra inductance to the plane and some added cost to
the system. Therefore, they should be used sparingly
and as needed.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
11
Plane partitioning methods can vary widely from an
ultra-conservative design (i.e., separate power and
ground planes per port and PHY device, with DVDD filtering using ferrite beads) to the other extreme (i.e.,
large power and ground planes, with limited or no filtering). Because of the different components (noise
sources, IC’s, etc.) acting at the same time in the system, it is hard to pinpoint an exact design and layout
method that will work in every case. Even the choice of
components (transformers, etc.) can have an impact on
the system passing FCC guidelines.
The recommendations listed here focus on the PHY
and leaves it up to the designer to tackle the components and issues beyond the MII interface. Likewise,
MLT-3 layout is dependent on the components and the
MLT-3 vendor recommendations. Consult the MLT-3
transceiver vendor for information.
The QFEXr device is a four port device with MII interfaces and MLT-3 or PECL interfaces. The MII interface
lies in the digital portion of the board and, therefore,
should be overlaid by a digital power and ground plane.
PECL ports can be overlaid by digital or PECL planes,
but PECL planes are recommended. Notice that the
QFEXr device should have a separate PDX plane to
ensure a clean power signal is sent to the on-board
PLL. Thus, layout for the QFEXr device should consider
these three planes, as outlined by the following options:
Option 1
■ Power plane layout:
— One PECL plane for each port, separated from
main power by ferrite beads
— One PDX plane also separated by a ferrite bead
— Remainder of the device to reside in the CMOS
VCC power plane with CMOS
■ Ground plane layout:
— All ports and the device reside in CMOS VDD
ground plane
Option 2
■ Power plane layout same as option 1
■ Ground plane layout:
— All ports reside in a separate PECL ground
plane (no ferrite beads), separated from main
— Ground except in one area (the “neck”)
— Remainder of the device to reside in CMOS VDD
ground plane
Option 3
■ Power plane layout same as option 1
■ Ground plane layout:
— One PECL plane for each port, separated from
main ground except in one area (the “neck”)
12
— Remainder of the device to reside in CMOS VDD
ground plane
An alternate power plane layout that seems to work is
to provide one PECL plane for all ports and still maintain the separate plane for the PDX. A multiport design
can benefit from this simplified layout, where each
QFEXr device has its own PECL and PDX planes.
However, it remains to be seen how the device can tolerate the added noise from inter-port crosstalk, as well
as how stable the design would be to be able to pass
FCC tests. This alternate scheme can be combined
with any of the ground plane options listed above.
Figure 9 illustrates an example layout of power planes
that aims to minimize potential noise sources which
may detract from good EMI performance. It is important to separate the sensitive PECL from the noisy
CMOS levels, and ferrite beads provide good filtering
for this purpose. Having separate PECL planes also
minimizes crosstalk from adjacent ports. Thus, four
ferrite beads are recommended to separate PECL
planes from the digital CMOS VCC plane. Additionally,
to insure a clean power supply to the PDX, an additional ferrite bead is placed on the DVDD_D pin or on
the plane underlying that pin to filter out noise from
the connecting CMOS VCC plane. So, each QFEXr
device can have up to five ferrite beads for power
plane isolation. In multiport systems and using the alternate power plane layout option, this can be relaxed
to two ferrite beads, one for the PECL plane and one
for the PDX plane of the QFEXr device.
Layout of the ground plane will greatly affect the design, as foreseen by the above three options. Ground
plane layout, as well as power plane layout, should take
into consideration the signal-return path for the AC current generated every time a signal switches. Once the
signal has returned, the current loop has been completed. AC return signals have an entire plane in which
to choose a path, but they take the path of least impedance (inductance and capacitance) to the current and
not necessarily in a straight line. If there are physical
breaks in the return signal plane, the signal has to circumvent the break, thereby, increasing inductance and
loop size.
The easiest ground plane layout as shown in the options would involve a common digital ground plane,
connecting with the remainder of the system beyond
the MII interface. However, because of the CMOS levels, a fair amount of noise can affect the PECL outputs.
In light of this, a separate PECL ground plane would
serve to separate most of the interference. The PECL
ground plane and system ground plane would be two
separate islands with a cut at the joining of both planes,
placed appropriately to aid in the return signal path.
This cut (or “neck”) is the only “entrance” for ground into
either plane, and a decoupling capacitor can be added
to moderate the frequency behavior. Ferrite beads are
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
not recommended to isolate system ground from PECL
ground, since ferrite beads add extra inductance that
affects the return signal path. For further PECL port
isolation, individual PECL ground planes can be added
at the expense of a more intricate design to minimize
signal path return. Separate PECL ground planes are
also more tedious to lay out in multiport designs.
Each plane is separated by a ferrite bead (recommend
Fair Rite 274-3019-446) that minimizes noise being
conducted through to the next plane. Differential pair
traces should be completely shrouded by the power/
ground plane it is in and should not cross into other
power/ground planes.
The plane area under the magnetics is left void for
optimum noise separation between the transmit/receive and chassis planes. The chassis plane connects
directly to the RJ-45 jacks, which are recommended to
be fully shielded. Additionally, 2-K volt capacitors connected to chassis ground are required for ESD protection, per the 100BASE-X standard.
CONCLUSION
100BASE-TX repeater design is more intricate and
requires a greater design effort than 10BASE-T design.
However, there is a great amount of knowledge readily
available to designers since high-speed design is
already upon us.
The QFEXr device is relatively straightforward to design into a 100-Mbps repeater system. With integrated
four-port capability, the reduction in board space and
related components (otherwise needed for single port
PHYs), the QFEXr device provide an easier and more
cost-effective design for customers.
By following these rules for high-speed design and
recommendations of repeater design with the QFEXr
device, 100BASE-TX repeater designers should be
able to make the transition from the 10 Mbps arena in
a single leap.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
13
Note 1:
The Analog Receive and Transmit planes shown here are sample recommendations by the
MLT-3 transceiver vendor. Consult with the vendors regarding
optimum system layout guidelines.
MLT3
R3
Magnetics
A3
RJ45
T3
C
MLT3
QFEX
QFEXr
R2
A2
Magnetics
RJ45
Magnetics
RJ45
Magnetics
RJ45
A1
T2
Note 2:
B
MLT3
Ground planes need not be partitioned like power planes. Refer
to the section “Plane Partitioning and EMI Considerations.”
D
A0
R1
T1
MLT3
R0
T0
21176B-9
Legend:
Group
Subgroup
Description
Group
Subgroup
Description
A
–
100 BASE-X PECL Plane
R
(Note 1)
R0
Port 0 Receive Plane
A0
Port 0 PECL Plane
R1
Port 1 Receive Plane
A1
Port 1 PECL Plane
R2
Port 2 Receive Plane
A2
Port 2 PECL Plane
R3
Port 3 Receive Plane
A3
Port 3 PECL Plane
T0
Port 0 Transmit Plane
B
–
TTL/CMOS Signals
T1
Port 1 Transmit Plane
C
–
Chassis Plane
T2
Port 2 Transmit Plane
D
–
PDX Plane
T3
Port 3 Transmit Plane
T
(Note 1)
Figure 9. Power Plane Partitioning (Note 2)
REFERENCES
High-Speed Board Design Techniques, AMD technical
application note PID 16356A.
Board Layout Considerations for Am79865 and
A m 7 9 8 6 6, A M D Te c h n i c a l A p p l i c a t i o n N o t e,
PID 16864A.
14
FASTPULSE MediaCAT, Pulse Engineering, P958-50.
Pulse Engineering, PO Box 12235, San Diego, CA,
92112. (619) 674-8100
Design And Layout Rules Eliminate Noise Coupling in
Communication Systems, Suilinski, James A. EDN,
6/20/96, pp. 95-100.
Designing 100BASE-TX Systems with the QFEX Family
Trademarks
Copyright © 1998 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
AMD, the AMD logo, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Am186, Am386, Am486, Am29000, bIMR, eIMR, eIMR+, GigaPHY, HIMIB, ILACC, IMR, IMR+, IMR2, ISA-HUB, MACE, Magic Packet, PCnet,
PCnet-FAST, PCnet-FAST+, PCnet-Mobile, QFEX, QFEXr, QuASI, QuEST, QuIET, TAXIchip, TPEX, and TPEX Plus are trademarks of Advanced
Micro Devices, Inc.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.