Quellan Links Up with Foxconn Technology Group Via Strategic Alliance

Companies to Collaborate on Ultra Low Power Active Interconnects

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 30 /PRNewswire/ — Quellan Incorporated, a leader in Analog Signal Processing and RF Noise Cancellation ICs, today announced it has entered into a Strategic Alliance with Foxconn Technology Group. The Alliance will deliver thinner, higher performance, environmentally friendly interconnects to the high growth cloud computing, desktop and rich media display markets by combining Foxconn’s Interconnect technology and green manufacturing prowess with Quellan’s Q:Active active cable semiconductor technology. The Alliance will expand Quellan’s Cloud Interconnect program to provide OEMS with access to vital technologies for accelerating active interconnect development.

Foxconn is the world’s leader for end-to-end environmentally friendly contract manufacturing. The Companies will collaborate on active interconnects for consumer, desktop and data center markets. Active Interconnects dramatically reduce power, weight and diameter required to interconnect high speed, rich media platforms such as Servers, Switches and Displays by performing signal processing directly inside the cable connector.

The Alliance’s Q:Active technology represents the industry’s smallest, lowest power and highest density Integrated Circuits for the active interconnect market. These IC’s deliver 6Gbps miniSAS,10Gbps SFP+ and 40Gbps QSFP throughput in a single CMOS device for Active Copper Cables, Blade Servers and Switches. Quellan’s QLx111G device achieves 10Gbps transmit and receive in a tiny 3 millimeter x 3 millimeter package while the QLx411GRx and QLx411GTx transmit and receive 40Gbps in just a 7 millimeter x 4 millimeter package. Quellan’s Consumer Products including the QLx1600 and QLx4270-DP deliver USB3.0 and DisplayPort active cable integration in similar ultra small packages.

These tiny devices are embedded directly in the connector and compensate for channel impairments such as skew, attenuation, group delay and crosstalk presented by the copper cable. They are entirely analog for low power and small size – yet deliver the highest industry performance. They enable a 10Gbps interconnect to run on copper twinax just 2mm in diameter – 30% thinner than fiber optics and 90% thinner than Category 6a structured cabling – or increase distance on traditional copper by as much as 400% – allowing data centers to interconnect without the hefty power consumption of fiber optic lasers and receivers.

“Clearly this is a breakthrough for Data Center interconnects at a time that’s right,” said Ken Fleck of Fleck Research and veteran of the interconnect industry. “The approach the Alliance is taking and the technology and benefits are impressive.”

According to Dataquest, there are now 7,000 major data centers up and running and many more being built out. Quellan chips are currently embedded in switches and supercomputers in these data centers that consume up to 30,000 ports of Q:Active technology per individual switch.

“Our partner’s Q:Active technology provides a seamless method for increasing reach and interconnect density without the price of power consumption,” said Caesar Chen, Foxconn SVP. “Our customers are now sampling our active cables and we plan to continue to innovate with this green technology going forward.”

“As a world leader in interconnects and end-to-end services alike, Foxconn is an excellent choice as a partner to deliver extremely cost effective, high performance active copper interconnects,” said Tony Stelliga, CEO of Quellan. “By combining our silicon expertise with their scale, innovation, devotion to environmental causes and engineering professionalism, unsurpassed price/performance green solutions can be achieved in the interconnect industry.”

About Quellan

QUELLAN, INC., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, designs and markets analog integrated circuits that dramatically enhance the performance of system interconnects and radio frequency receivers. Quellan chips are embedded in connectors, receiver modules and handheld mobile devices to improve speed, density and reception quality. The company’s patented Collaborative Signal Processing products perform adaptive noise cancellation and equalization with an entirely analog signal path for ultra low power. Quellan serves a broad range of applications in the computing, storage, consumer and wireless markets. http://www.quellan.com

About Foxconn Technology Group

Foxconn is the partner of choice for all aspects of contract manufacturing services in 3C industries. Armed with its proprietary eCMMS business model and world leading IP portfolio, Foxconn has revolutionized the CEM/EMS/ODM industries since the turn of the century. Through its renowned offering of best speed, quality, engineering services, efficiency and value-added, Foxconn determines to make the comfort from environmental-friendly electronic products usage an attainable luxury for all mankind. http://www.foxconn.com/

SOURCE Quellan, Inc.