PowerSource

Mar 19 2008 9:12PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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I was talking with Amit Gattani, director of marketing for Akros Silicon, about their recently-introduced AS1135 PD controller IC for 30W PoE (Power over Ethernet) – this is the  version of 802.3at that’s still in the Draft version, although Gattani says the PHY layer is wrapped up, and that’s the layer that this chip addresses.

My interest was in Akros’ continued emphasis on EMI filtering and surge protection for their PoE chips. When they introduced their AS1601/02 chip last year, they made a point of including filtering and protection on the chip, yet when I asked several PoE vendors about their need for surge protection I got blank stares in return – it just wasn’t a hot button for the folks I spoke with.

 Gattani explained that Ethernet has traditionally been an enterprise technology that’s all inside one building. “As the technology moves to PoE, we see more use of networking outside of buildings now, such as security cameras mounted outside, WiFi access points, or fiber-to-the-home with Ethernet running outside the home. Suddenly there’s a bigger scope where you’re more prone to lightning and surge-related issues.” Plus, in emerging countries like China, Russia, or India, power is not highly controlled compared to an American deployment, and you can get some serious power surges. He agrees that if your application is totally inside a building, which is a relatively benign environment, then you’re more concerned about issues lie cable discharge/disconnect events, but he argues that EMI filtering/surge protection is still valuable to have built-in to your PoE controller chip, and makes for one less headache to worry about in your design.

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