Microchip has the world’s first PCIe 5.0 switches

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Switchtec PFX PCIe Gen 5 chips are twice as fast as PCIe Gen 4.0 solutions

Microchip Technology has unveiled the world’s first PCIe 5.0 switch ICs. The Switchtec PFX PCIe 5.0 family of switches is designed for internal connections in high-performance computers, NVMe storage, and networking equipment. They can be used in conjunction with PCIe Gen 5 compliant XpressConnect sync restorers.

Switchtec PFX PCIe Gen 5 chips
Switchtec PFX PCIe Gen 5 chips

Microchip has the world’s first PCIe 5.0 switches

The Switchtec PFX PCIe 5.0 family includes high density, high-reliability switches with 28 to 100 lanes and 48 nontransparent bridges (NTBs). The manufacturer notes support for hot plugging and secure boot authentication.

Complex topologies and the challenge of maintaining signal integrity at 32 GT / s data rates pose significant challenges when designing and debugging PCIe 5.0 systems. To simplify their solution, the Switchtec PFX PCIe 5.0 switches are equipped with a full range of debugging and diagnostic features, including embedded PCIe analyzers that support transaction-level packet generation and analysis (TLP) and serial-to-parallel and parallel-to-serial converter monitoring tools that do not impact their work. The manufacturer also offers design documentation, sample projects, evaluation boards, and other developer support tools. Evaluation samples of Switchtec PFX PCIe 5.0 switches are now available.