Two important factors driving future technology developments in the broadband chip industry revolve around government regulations and market forces. The “EU Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency of Broadband Equipment” was written to create “greener” or lower power chip solutions. Analog Devices ADLD8404 Line Driver, which the company introduced in September 2010, is one of the first to meet the EU’s targets as the line driver reduces total power consumption per port to under 1W – including the chip set – saving 150mW per port while still delivering 14.5 dBm of line power.

The second technology development is being driven by the market. Customers are requiring chip architectures that continually run in real-time rather than architectures relying on high-speed signals to turn charge pumps on and off. Running in real-time means designers have the flexibility to choose the chip sets they want to use. For example, ADI’s line drivers use patented Adaptive Linear Power™ technology (U.S. Patent No. 6636103), a technique that tracks ADSL2+/VDSL2 input signals on two channels simultaneously, and then dynamically selects the higher peak. By ensuring the tracking supply is always at the highest level, the new line driver eliminates clipped signals and distortion. For more information visit http://www.analog.com/ADLD8404.