Maxim Announces Triple-/Quad-Channel PCI-Express Hot-Plug Controllers
Maxim Integrated Products introduced the MAX5957/MAX5958 (triple) and MAX5959/MAX5960 (quad), which are described as the industry’s first fully integrated, 3-/4-channel hot-plug controllers for safe insertion and removal of PCI-Express® (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, PCIe®) cards from live PCI-Express hot-plug slots.
The company claims that, by integrating more channels than competitive PCI-Express controllers, the MAX5957-MAX5960 increase design flexibility, and save both board space and production cost. The target application for these controllers is high-availability systems that require 24/7 operation. Examples include servers, and storage and RAID systems.
PCI-Express server systems have 1, 3, 5, 7, or more PCIe slots. The MAX5957-MAX5960 provide independent power control for all three PCIe voltage rails (+12V, +3.3V, and +3.3V auxiliary supply rail) for three or four PCIe slots. The MAX5957/MAX5959 and MAX5958/MAX5960 are configured for 375mA and 550mA maximum current limit, respectively, for the +3.3V auxiliary supply rail.
The devices integrate a 0.2Ω power MOSFET switch for each +3.3V auxiliary supply rail, and can be controlled with an external I/O expander through the SMBus™ interface. This flexible power-control scheme is said to remove the need for external communications components and, again, reduces overall system cost.
These hot-swap controllers are claimed to deliver the high level of system protection required for high-availability systems. Active inrush and overcurrent protection come with programmable overcurrent timeout. Thermal shutdown protection is also provided for each channel. Other features include: power-good status indicators with power-on reset; attention input switches with 4ms debounce; and status outputs for reporting overcurrent and thermal shutdown faults. The devices are offered with latch-off or autorestart fault management.
The MAX5957-MAX5960 operate in the -40 to +85°C extended temperature range. The MAX5957/MAX5958 (triple) are available in a 56-pin QFN package; the MAX5959/MAX5960 (quad) are packaged in an 80-pin QFN. Prices start at $4.42 for the MAX5957/MAX5958 and $5.03 for the MAX5959/MAX5960 (1000-up FOB USA).
