EtherCAT ASICs
https://www.beckhoff.com/english.asp?ethercat/el9820_el9821_el9830_el9840.htm
The ET1100 and ET1200 EtherCAT ASICs offer a cost-effective and compact solution for realising EtherCAT slaves. They process the EtherCAT protocol in the hardware and therefore ensure high-performance and real-time capability, independent of any downstream slave microcontrollers and associated software. Through their three process data interfaces – digital I/O, SPI and 8/16 bit µC (not for ET1200) – the EtherCAT ASICs enable realisation of simple digital modules without microcontrollers and development of intelligent devices with own processor. Both ASICs feature distributed clocks that enable high-precision synchronisation (<< 1 µs) of the EtherCAT slaves. The supply voltage is 3.3 V or 5 V; the core voltage of 2.5 V is generated by the integrated in-phase regulator or can be supplied directly. The ET1100 is suitable as a universal solution for all types of EtherCAT devices; the ET1200 is optimised for modular devices using E-bus/LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signalling) as internal interface. Due to their compact design and small number of external components, both ASICs only require minimum space on the board.
The ET1100 ASIC housing (BGA128) only measures 10 x 10 mm. The chip can support up to four EtherCAT ports. The 8 kB internal memory (DPRAM) for access to process and parameter data is optionally addressed via parallel or serial data bus. Alternatively, the ASICs can also be used without controller. In this case up to 32 digital signals can be connected directly.
The ET1200 ASIC is the “small” variant of the ET1100; with its QFN48 housing measuring only 7 x 7 mm, the chip is even more compact. The device offers 16 digital I/O interfaces and distributed clock hardware for high-precision synchronisation. The 1 kB internal DPRAM is addressed via a fast (20 Mbit/s) serial interface. The “small ASIC” offers up to three EtherCAT ports, one of which can be used as MII for connecting a standard PHY. The other ports are used for LVDS, which makes the ET1200 the right choice for modular devices using LVDS as internal bus physics.
