Does the Microchip/SMSC PHYBoost technology help with Rx, or does it boost Tx only?
$begingroup$
So I'm doing some configurations on a product which has a LAN9514 chip (datasheet), that features the "PHYBoost" technology.
Microchip's website is very vague about the technology, and my impression, after reading the datasheet, is that this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by the hub.
So my question is: Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
usb microchip usb-hub
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
So I'm doing some configurations on a product which has a LAN9514 chip (datasheet), that features the "PHYBoost" technology.
Microchip's website is very vague about the technology, and my impression, after reading the datasheet, is that this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by the hub.
So my question is: Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
usb microchip usb-hub
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
So I'm doing some configurations on a product which has a LAN9514 chip (datasheet), that features the "PHYBoost" technology.
Microchip's website is very vague about the technology, and my impression, after reading the datasheet, is that this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by the hub.
So my question is: Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
usb microchip usb-hub
$endgroup$
So I'm doing some configurations on a product which has a LAN9514 chip (datasheet), that features the "PHYBoost" technology.
Microchip's website is very vague about the technology, and my impression, after reading the datasheet, is that this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by the hub.
So my question is: Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
usb microchip usb-hub
usb microchip usb-hub
asked 2 days ago
AndrejaKoAndrejaKo
16.9k1987164
16.9k1987164
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
From the datasheet, the only reference I can see to PHYBoost is:
PHYBoost which enables four programmable levels of USB signal drive strength in USB port transceivers
That indicates that basically it is controlling the drive strength of the transcievers. Drive strength is a property of transmit only, not receive.
More generally, from the link you posted to the technology brief, "PHYBoost" is basically appears to be just increasing the output voltage of the eye to try to compensate for signal attenuation.
For some background:
Badly designed transmission lines and connectors cause impedance mismatches and signal reflections that basically distort the "eye" of the signal being transmitted (basically changes the rise and fall times, as well as the peak voltages). If the eye is distorted too much, the receiver will no longer be able to confidently determine whether a 1 or a 0 was sent, causing an increse in the bit error rate.
There is very little you can do about this at the receiver end. In some systems you can overcome this using oversampling and filtering or equalisation techniques. However these are not supported by the part in question - as such once the signal is distorted to the point where it violates the eye requirements of the receiver, the information is already lost.
Fortunately, the distortion from reflections and frequency dispertion cauused by transmission line effects is fairly constant for a given system (that is it doesn't vary much over time). Because of this, it can be possible to improve the eye by changing the shape of the transmit signals. You basically predistort the signal in a way that once passed through the transmission line gets distorted back into the correct shape.
Some systems like PCIe have training mechanisms to determine what if any distortion (pre-emphasis, de-emphasis) of the signals can assist. Other systems have non-standard (IC specific) ways of the ability to do some distortion based on configuration settings.
On further inspection it seems that the PHYBoost isn't doing any clever predistortion, it's just increasing the differential voltage of the transmitters.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by
the hub.
Yes, this is unconditionally correct. The "boost" settings just increase the current drive source by 4-8-12%. The reason is also clearly spelled out:
"PHYBoost attempts to restore USB signal integrity that has been compromised by system level variables such as poor PCB layout, long cables, etc."
In other words, if your design is inside a big-big enclosure, and if your budget constraints prevent you from bringing the hub ICs in close proximity to user-accessible ports (using some small daughter sub-boards) and you have to use long cables inside the enclosure to reach external ports, the signal amplitude at the point of measuring (and therefore during USB-IF certification process) will be decreased by natural causes, no matter how well do you match impedance etc. The PHYBoost feature was designed to accommodate this kind of designs and make them certifiable. The boost doesn't do any "pre-emphasis", although Intel does it for the same reasons (big motherboards with thin convoluted traces need some boost).
Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
Unfortunately, no. The so-called "USB receiver sensitivity" is a different and challenging matter. The USB specifies a fairly narrow range of squelch threshold (100 mV) and full no-error receiving above 150 mV, with grey area between 100 and 150 mV. If the environment is noisy (and long wires do not improve that), it might be a challenge to meet the certification requirement. AFAIK, MCHP/SMSC has no means to control these thresholds, unfortunately.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["\$", "\$"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");
StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("schematics", function () {
StackExchange.schematics.init();
});
}, "cicuitlab");
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "135"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2felectronics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f418693%2fdoes-the-microchip-smsc-phyboost-technology-help-with-rx-or-does-it-boost-tx-on%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
From the datasheet, the only reference I can see to PHYBoost is:
PHYBoost which enables four programmable levels of USB signal drive strength in USB port transceivers
That indicates that basically it is controlling the drive strength of the transcievers. Drive strength is a property of transmit only, not receive.
More generally, from the link you posted to the technology brief, "PHYBoost" is basically appears to be just increasing the output voltage of the eye to try to compensate for signal attenuation.
For some background:
Badly designed transmission lines and connectors cause impedance mismatches and signal reflections that basically distort the "eye" of the signal being transmitted (basically changes the rise and fall times, as well as the peak voltages). If the eye is distorted too much, the receiver will no longer be able to confidently determine whether a 1 or a 0 was sent, causing an increse in the bit error rate.
There is very little you can do about this at the receiver end. In some systems you can overcome this using oversampling and filtering or equalisation techniques. However these are not supported by the part in question - as such once the signal is distorted to the point where it violates the eye requirements of the receiver, the information is already lost.
Fortunately, the distortion from reflections and frequency dispertion cauused by transmission line effects is fairly constant for a given system (that is it doesn't vary much over time). Because of this, it can be possible to improve the eye by changing the shape of the transmit signals. You basically predistort the signal in a way that once passed through the transmission line gets distorted back into the correct shape.
Some systems like PCIe have training mechanisms to determine what if any distortion (pre-emphasis, de-emphasis) of the signals can assist. Other systems have non-standard (IC specific) ways of the ability to do some distortion based on configuration settings.
On further inspection it seems that the PHYBoost isn't doing any clever predistortion, it's just increasing the differential voltage of the transmitters.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
From the datasheet, the only reference I can see to PHYBoost is:
PHYBoost which enables four programmable levels of USB signal drive strength in USB port transceivers
That indicates that basically it is controlling the drive strength of the transcievers. Drive strength is a property of transmit only, not receive.
More generally, from the link you posted to the technology brief, "PHYBoost" is basically appears to be just increasing the output voltage of the eye to try to compensate for signal attenuation.
For some background:
Badly designed transmission lines and connectors cause impedance mismatches and signal reflections that basically distort the "eye" of the signal being transmitted (basically changes the rise and fall times, as well as the peak voltages). If the eye is distorted too much, the receiver will no longer be able to confidently determine whether a 1 or a 0 was sent, causing an increse in the bit error rate.
There is very little you can do about this at the receiver end. In some systems you can overcome this using oversampling and filtering or equalisation techniques. However these are not supported by the part in question - as such once the signal is distorted to the point where it violates the eye requirements of the receiver, the information is already lost.
Fortunately, the distortion from reflections and frequency dispertion cauused by transmission line effects is fairly constant for a given system (that is it doesn't vary much over time). Because of this, it can be possible to improve the eye by changing the shape of the transmit signals. You basically predistort the signal in a way that once passed through the transmission line gets distorted back into the correct shape.
Some systems like PCIe have training mechanisms to determine what if any distortion (pre-emphasis, de-emphasis) of the signals can assist. Other systems have non-standard (IC specific) ways of the ability to do some distortion based on configuration settings.
On further inspection it seems that the PHYBoost isn't doing any clever predistortion, it's just increasing the differential voltage of the transmitters.
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
From the datasheet, the only reference I can see to PHYBoost is:
PHYBoost which enables four programmable levels of USB signal drive strength in USB port transceivers
That indicates that basically it is controlling the drive strength of the transcievers. Drive strength is a property of transmit only, not receive.
More generally, from the link you posted to the technology brief, "PHYBoost" is basically appears to be just increasing the output voltage of the eye to try to compensate for signal attenuation.
For some background:
Badly designed transmission lines and connectors cause impedance mismatches and signal reflections that basically distort the "eye" of the signal being transmitted (basically changes the rise and fall times, as well as the peak voltages). If the eye is distorted too much, the receiver will no longer be able to confidently determine whether a 1 or a 0 was sent, causing an increse in the bit error rate.
There is very little you can do about this at the receiver end. In some systems you can overcome this using oversampling and filtering or equalisation techniques. However these are not supported by the part in question - as such once the signal is distorted to the point where it violates the eye requirements of the receiver, the information is already lost.
Fortunately, the distortion from reflections and frequency dispertion cauused by transmission line effects is fairly constant for a given system (that is it doesn't vary much over time). Because of this, it can be possible to improve the eye by changing the shape of the transmit signals. You basically predistort the signal in a way that once passed through the transmission line gets distorted back into the correct shape.
Some systems like PCIe have training mechanisms to determine what if any distortion (pre-emphasis, de-emphasis) of the signals can assist. Other systems have non-standard (IC specific) ways of the ability to do some distortion based on configuration settings.
On further inspection it seems that the PHYBoost isn't doing any clever predistortion, it's just increasing the differential voltage of the transmitters.
$endgroup$
From the datasheet, the only reference I can see to PHYBoost is:
PHYBoost which enables four programmable levels of USB signal drive strength in USB port transceivers
That indicates that basically it is controlling the drive strength of the transcievers. Drive strength is a property of transmit only, not receive.
More generally, from the link you posted to the technology brief, "PHYBoost" is basically appears to be just increasing the output voltage of the eye to try to compensate for signal attenuation.
For some background:
Badly designed transmission lines and connectors cause impedance mismatches and signal reflections that basically distort the "eye" of the signal being transmitted (basically changes the rise and fall times, as well as the peak voltages). If the eye is distorted too much, the receiver will no longer be able to confidently determine whether a 1 or a 0 was sent, causing an increse in the bit error rate.
There is very little you can do about this at the receiver end. In some systems you can overcome this using oversampling and filtering or equalisation techniques. However these are not supported by the part in question - as such once the signal is distorted to the point where it violates the eye requirements of the receiver, the information is already lost.
Fortunately, the distortion from reflections and frequency dispertion cauused by transmission line effects is fairly constant for a given system (that is it doesn't vary much over time). Because of this, it can be possible to improve the eye by changing the shape of the transmit signals. You basically predistort the signal in a way that once passed through the transmission line gets distorted back into the correct shape.
Some systems like PCIe have training mechanisms to determine what if any distortion (pre-emphasis, de-emphasis) of the signals can assist. Other systems have non-standard (IC specific) ways of the ability to do some distortion based on configuration settings.
On further inspection it seems that the PHYBoost isn't doing any clever predistortion, it's just increasing the differential voltage of the transmitters.
edited 2 days ago
answered 2 days ago
Tom CarpenterTom Carpenter
38.8k271118
38.8k271118
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
|
show 5 more comments
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
2
2
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Actually, you can do something on the receive side: equalization. Both continuous time and decision feedback (DFE) equalization at the receiver can compensate for some amount of high frequency loss, reflections, etc.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
@alex.forencich receive side equalisation requires oversampling the input doesn't it?
$endgroup$
– Tom Carpenter
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization requires channel training using special pattern sequences. USB 2.0 doesn't define and doesn't have any pre-de-emphasis nor CTLE and any training mechanisms, so discussing them in the context of this particular question is moot.
$endgroup$
– Ale..chenski
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
More than 1 quantization level or even an ADC, but it's usually only one sample per symbol.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
$begingroup$
Equalization doesn't require training sequences. CTLE is just an analog filter of sorts, and DFE can adapt in the background while the link is in normal use. Adjusting pre-emphasis levels usually does require special training sequences, though.
$endgroup$
– alex.forencich
2 days ago
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by
the hub.
Yes, this is unconditionally correct. The "boost" settings just increase the current drive source by 4-8-12%. The reason is also clearly spelled out:
"PHYBoost attempts to restore USB signal integrity that has been compromised by system level variables such as poor PCB layout, long cables, etc."
In other words, if your design is inside a big-big enclosure, and if your budget constraints prevent you from bringing the hub ICs in close proximity to user-accessible ports (using some small daughter sub-boards) and you have to use long cables inside the enclosure to reach external ports, the signal amplitude at the point of measuring (and therefore during USB-IF certification process) will be decreased by natural causes, no matter how well do you match impedance etc. The PHYBoost feature was designed to accommodate this kind of designs and make them certifiable. The boost doesn't do any "pre-emphasis", although Intel does it for the same reasons (big motherboards with thin convoluted traces need some boost).
Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
Unfortunately, no. The so-called "USB receiver sensitivity" is a different and challenging matter. The USB specifies a fairly narrow range of squelch threshold (100 mV) and full no-error receiving above 150 mV, with grey area between 100 and 150 mV. If the environment is noisy (and long wires do not improve that), it might be a challenge to meet the certification requirement. AFAIK, MCHP/SMSC has no means to control these thresholds, unfortunately.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by
the hub.
Yes, this is unconditionally correct. The "boost" settings just increase the current drive source by 4-8-12%. The reason is also clearly spelled out:
"PHYBoost attempts to restore USB signal integrity that has been compromised by system level variables such as poor PCB layout, long cables, etc."
In other words, if your design is inside a big-big enclosure, and if your budget constraints prevent you from bringing the hub ICs in close proximity to user-accessible ports (using some small daughter sub-boards) and you have to use long cables inside the enclosure to reach external ports, the signal amplitude at the point of measuring (and therefore during USB-IF certification process) will be decreased by natural causes, no matter how well do you match impedance etc. The PHYBoost feature was designed to accommodate this kind of designs and make them certifiable. The boost doesn't do any "pre-emphasis", although Intel does it for the same reasons (big motherboards with thin convoluted traces need some boost).
Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
Unfortunately, no. The so-called "USB receiver sensitivity" is a different and challenging matter. The USB specifies a fairly narrow range of squelch threshold (100 mV) and full no-error receiving above 150 mV, with grey area between 100 and 150 mV. If the environment is noisy (and long wires do not improve that), it might be a challenge to meet the certification requirement. AFAIK, MCHP/SMSC has no means to control these thresholds, unfortunately.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by
the hub.
Yes, this is unconditionally correct. The "boost" settings just increase the current drive source by 4-8-12%. The reason is also clearly spelled out:
"PHYBoost attempts to restore USB signal integrity that has been compromised by system level variables such as poor PCB layout, long cables, etc."
In other words, if your design is inside a big-big enclosure, and if your budget constraints prevent you from bringing the hub ICs in close proximity to user-accessible ports (using some small daughter sub-boards) and you have to use long cables inside the enclosure to reach external ports, the signal amplitude at the point of measuring (and therefore during USB-IF certification process) will be decreased by natural causes, no matter how well do you match impedance etc. The PHYBoost feature was designed to accommodate this kind of designs and make them certifiable. The boost doesn't do any "pre-emphasis", although Intel does it for the same reasons (big motherboards with thin convoluted traces need some boost).
Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
Unfortunately, no. The so-called "USB receiver sensitivity" is a different and challenging matter. The USB specifies a fairly narrow range of squelch threshold (100 mV) and full no-error receiving above 150 mV, with grey area between 100 and 150 mV. If the environment is noisy (and long wires do not improve that), it might be a challenge to meet the certification requirement. AFAIK, MCHP/SMSC has no means to control these thresholds, unfortunately.
$endgroup$
this feature will only increase the amplitude of the signals sent by
the hub.
Yes, this is unconditionally correct. The "boost" settings just increase the current drive source by 4-8-12%. The reason is also clearly spelled out:
"PHYBoost attempts to restore USB signal integrity that has been compromised by system level variables such as poor PCB layout, long cables, etc."
In other words, if your design is inside a big-big enclosure, and if your budget constraints prevent you from bringing the hub ICs in close proximity to user-accessible ports (using some small daughter sub-boards) and you have to use long cables inside the enclosure to reach external ports, the signal amplitude at the point of measuring (and therefore during USB-IF certification process) will be decreased by natural causes, no matter how well do you match impedance etc. The PHYBoost feature was designed to accommodate this kind of designs and make them certifiable. The boost doesn't do any "pre-emphasis", although Intel does it for the same reasons (big motherboards with thin convoluted traces need some boost).
Does it do anything for the signals which the hub is receiving?
Unfortunately, no. The so-called "USB receiver sensitivity" is a different and challenging matter. The USB specifies a fairly narrow range of squelch threshold (100 mV) and full no-error receiving above 150 mV, with grey area between 100 and 150 mV. If the environment is noisy (and long wires do not improve that), it might be a challenge to meet the certification requirement. AFAIK, MCHP/SMSC has no means to control these thresholds, unfortunately.
answered 2 days ago
Ale..chenskiAle..chenski
27k11864
27k11864
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2felectronics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f418693%2fdoes-the-microchip-smsc-phyboost-technology-help-with-rx-or-does-it-boost-tx-on%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown