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ON Semiconductor prepares for new era of IoT power over ethernet
Tue, 10th Sep 2019
FYI, this story is more than a year old

ON Semiconductor is mobilising support for the new IEEE 802.3bt standard amongst its products and technologies, as it gets set for a new era of the internet of things (IoT).

The company says that the new standard will enable power over ethernet (PoE) to deliver high-speed connectivity of up to 90 watts of power across local area network (LAN) connections.

With PoE becoming an important market in the transformation of IoT and every vertical market, there is potential to enable more sophisticated endpoints that operate across larger networks.

According to ON Semiconductor, “The IEEE 802.3bt standard optimizes energy management through the new ‘Autoclass' feature, which enables powered devices (PDs) to communicate their specific power needs to the power sourcing equipment (PSE). This in turn allows each PSE to allocate just the right amount of power to each PD, maximizing both the available energy and bandwidth.

Previously some applications would need a dedicated, offline power source, however the IEEE 802.at standard will be able to provide both power and connectivity to these applications.

“Power over ethernet is one of the fastest-growing markets for power semiconductors today, with a compound average unit growth rate of 14% expected from 2017 through 2022,” says HIS Markit senior analysis of power semiconductors, Kevin Anderson.

“The additional power-delivery capability defined in IEEE 802.3bt enables new applications, such as higher-powered connected lighting, networked high-resolution surveillance cameras and high-performance wireless access points.

ON Semiconductor adds that PoE will simplify network topologies and provide a more robust ‘plug and play' user experience.

“As a company focused on energy efficiency, we are really excited to help PoE achieve its full potential,” says ON Semiconductor vice president of industrial and off-line power solutions, Ryan Cameron. “By providing a complete family of IEEE 802.3bt compliant solutions, we have made the technology more accessible for all development engineers which will help enable many more connected devices with guaranteed interoperability.

ON Semiconductor's NCP1095 and NCP1096 Interface Controllers incorporate all of the features needed to implement a PoE interface, including detection, auto-classification and current limiting.

The controllers employ either an external (NCP1095) or internal (NCP1096) hot-swap FET. The integrated hot-swap FET in the NCP1096 features the lowest on-resistance available in a Type 3 or Type 4 PoE controller.

The controllers are complemented by the NCP1566 DC-DC Controller, the FDMC8622 Single MOSFET and the FDMQ8203 and FDMQ8205A GreenBridge Quad MOSFETs, which have been developed to provide a more efficient alternative to a diode bridge in PoE applications.

Together, these devices enable PoE interfaces with up to the standard limit of 90 watts of power or to a proprietary 100 watt solution if more power is needed.