A new generation of digital cable has entered the applications market. Compact active cables embed signal processing technology directly into the cable structure to improve bandwidth performance and extend the capability of many communication standards such as HDMI, USB, DisplayPort and Infiniband.

In active cables, a chip is embedded in the sink end of the cable to compensate for the data loss which occurs when very high speed signals are transmitted over copper. This technology enables cable brands and cable assemblies to produce slim, flexible and compact cables for consumers.

VerifEye is RedMere's advanced cable test platform which optimizes the high-speed test measurement facility in the chip which contains the equalizer. Each active cable can be tuned in a production environment and assures quality and compliance of the finished active cable.

Find out more about RedMere’s technology by clicking your option below:

Chip Technology

When you increase the length and decrease the gauge of a cable, the electronic characteristics of cable assemblies becomes less reliable and causes higher loss. The chip technology recovers this loss through equalization settings to produce compliant cables.

High-speed differential cable design is centred on the trade-off of manufacturing cost versus data-rate performance requirements over length. As performance demands increase, high-frequency bandwidth suppression becomes more difficult to solve. These problems cause common-mode noise (cross-talk, EMI) and increased rise times and reduced amplitudes, which mean that data becomes virtually impossible to recover.

This unique patented technology solves these cable bandwidth problems with signal conditioning technology embedded directly within the sink side of the cable. The adaptive equalization applies gain to the high-frequency signal components as a function of the frequency loss detected.

The chip is powered by a technique called power harvesting. The IC is designed to harvest power from the data lines without corrupting the data. 

The technology ensures cable quality and compliance through an in built high-speed test function. This works by sending high frequency data around the cable and measuring data edges with pico-second accuracy.

RedMere's chip technology and cable reference designs assist cable brands and manufacturers bring active cables to market.

Cross section of cable using RedMere's technology (left) and a traditional cable

Contact RedMere for full technical data on this innovative technology.

VerifEye Active Cable Test Platform

The VerifEye active cable test platform enables the rapid testing of active cable solutions based on RedMere's chip technology. It provides a fool-proof, rapid manufacturing test so that active cables operating at speeds up to 10Gbps may be tested on the production line in 1.8 seconds.

The VerifEye platform comprises two technology elements. The first is a high-speed test and measurement block embedded in the RedMere chips. This on-chip function is a patented, at-speed eye quality monitor embedded within the devices. The second function resides in the VerifEye manufacturing test system which interfaces directly with the unit under test (UUT) and provides immediate pass and fail indications to the line operator.

By embedding the complex, high-speed test functions in the UUT rather than the hardware tester, the VerifEye hardware platform is a low-cost alternative to the expensive multi-Gbps test systems typically in use.

The unit supports two software modes – VerifEye Line (for use in a production environment) and VerifEye Lab (for use in cable R&D). VerifEye carries out a continuity test, configures the IC with optimal settings, and finally reports on the final quality of each pair of data lines in the HDMI cable. It achieves this is less than five seconds. This sequence seals the quality of each cable during the production process and removes the defects guaranteed with statistical process control.

The software reports and records cable performance and using devices allows cable designs to be tuned in a development environment. The unit also provides statistical analysis from the production line to support yield and quality improvements.

The VerifEye platform is available to adopters of RedMere’s in-cable silicon solutions.

Contact RedMere for full technical data on VerifEye.