AVX Corporation Becomes a Member of OPEN Alliance

AVX is a global manufacturer and supplier of electronic components that cater to the communications, industrial, automotive, medical, military, consumer electronics, and transportation markets. The company’s portfolio of products and solutions include filters, resistors, capacitors, inductors, couplers, diodes, circuit protection devices, and sensor, interconnect, control, and antenna solutions. After joining the single pair ethernet (SPE) Industrial Partner Network, AVX recently joined OPEN (One-Pair Ethernet) Alliance. By becoming a member of these organizations, AVX exemplifies its intentions for promoting wider market adoption of SPE. 

 

Image used courtesy of AVX

 

SPE Industrial Partner Network and OPEN Alliance

SPE is used to describe the transmission of Ethernet over only one pair of copper wires. This mode of transmission allows simultaneous power supply of terminals via Podl (Power over Dataline) is expected to bring new possibilities and fields of application for industrial Ethernet. The SPE Industrial Partner Network believes that SPE is what provides the key foundation stones for a firm infrastructure upon which the industrial internet of things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 can be made realized. The Network is an association made up of leading industry partners that together aim to reliably establish the SPE ecosystem of the future. To do this, general standardization and infrastructure standardization must be supported. All members of the SPE Network are committed to existing SPE standards that ensure uniform transmission standards and copper data cables.

 

Image used courtesy of AVX

 

Another proponent of SPE is OPEN Alliance, a non-profit special interest group (SIG). The group is constituted of automotive industry and technology providers that work together to promote wider adoption of SPE solutions as the standard for automotive networking applications. Like the SPE Industrial Partner Network, OPEN Alliance works in collaboration with partners and more particularly strives to help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) make the most of SPE communication networks when concerning their simplicity, flexibility, and scalability. OPEN Alliance believes that Ethernet-based communication networks are the basis for autonomous driving and other applications associated with a connected vehicle. 

 

AVX Joins OPEN Alliance

One of OPEN Alliance’ goals is to “enable the deployment of the existing IEEE 100BASE-T1,1000BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-RH physical layer specifications with complementing specifications for conformance and interoperability”. AVX will be working with other members of OPEN Alliance to push this forward. AVX has been provided with a qualification that allows the company to develop multilayer varistors (MLVs) that meet IEEE 100BASE-T1 and 1000BASE-T1 testing requirements. The MLVs will also be made to deliver low capacitance while remaining lightweight and compact in design. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a process that can damage components such as integrated circuits (ICs), engine control units (ECUs), heads up displays (HUDs), and advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS). Devices like the MLVs, such as transient voltage suppression (TVS) devices, help to protect the data lines of automotive Ethernet networks from ESD.

Technical Marketing Manager for Power Film/Circuit Protection at AVX, John Gallipeau, provided his comments in a recent news release: “We are thrilled to join the OPEN Alliance and are fully committed to collaborating with other members, Tier 1 suppliers, and automotive OEMs to develop, standardize, and promote the widespread adoption of safe, efficient, and effective products that meet the organization’s stringent testing specifications, as well as broader Ethernet-based standards that apply to the automotive and IoT industries.” Gallipeau added: “We have extensive experience developing TVS devices, including multilayer varistors, for high-reliability and mission-critical automotive applications, as well as an impressive track record of field-proven success with these components. So, we’re very proud and pleased to leverage our expertise in support of the OPEN Alliance and its efforts to develop, standardize, and promote new single-pair Ethernet technologies capable of handling the ever-increasing data speeds critical to the continuation of advanced automotive innovation.”