Synopsys shows working PCIe4 silicon

IDF 2015: Up, running at speed, and not an FPGA

Sep 9, 2015 by

Synopsys logoSemiAccurate saw working PCIe4 silicon at IDF this year and we have Synopsys to thank. While this 16Gbps link tech is still a ways off from end-user products, it is now quite real.

As you can see in the picture below, we weren’t kidding about PCIe4 being a ways off of consumer products, it is still very early in the game. Synopsys was demoing real PCIe4 silicon, it is in the boards on the bottom, and it was working at speed. The FPGA in the middle board was effectively a signal generator to spit data across the link, to another PCIe4 board on the other side, and then to another FPGA.

Synopsis PCIe4 silcon

Not PCIe3 4x but PCIe4 at 16Gbps

The specs of PCIe4 are pretty well-known, twice the 8Gbps of PCIe3 and the rest is about the same as we have now. With 100GbE bringing 25/28Gbps PHYs to the market in volume, the difficulties for PCIe4 aren’t the silicon but the transmission across relatively long PCBs. Luckily for us Synopsys has demo’d working silicon, interoperability with Melanox’s PCIe4 silicon, and will license you the IP should you need it. Hurry up and make the call people, we need this ASAP.S|A

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate
Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate