Ultra-compact, low-power 10G/5G/2.5G Ethernet PHY family brings standards-based connectivity and flexible cabling to robots, autonomous vehicles and intelligent machines

 Aeonsemi,  a fabless semiconductor company specializing in Ethernet connectivity and timing technologies,  announced the Praxium™ family of multi-gigabit Ethernet PHYs for Physical AI applications. Delivering data rates up to 10 Gbps in an ultra-compact 6 × 6 mm QFN package, Praxium™ brings high-speed, low-power and low-latency Ethernet connectivity to cameras, LiDAR, zone controllers and network backbones in robots, vehicles and intelligent machines.

Designed for automotive-grade reliability, Praxium™ supports IEEE 802.3ch multi-gigabit Ethernet over shielded twisted pair (STP) while extending connectivity to additional cabling and connector options, including coax and miniature twinax (mini-twinax). This cabling flexibility, together with Ethernet’s high-speed data aggregation capabilities, enables system designers to optimize cable weight and routing through space-constrained mechanical joints and address demanding electromagnetic environments while maintaining a common, scalable Ethernet architecture from distributed sensors and actuators to central AI compute.

Ethernet: The Connectivity Fabric for Physical AI

Artificial intelligence is quickly extending from the digital world into the physical world. Robots, autonomous vehicles and intelligent machines increasingly rely on large numbers of physically distributed cameras, LiDAR, sensors and actuators that must exchange data with AI compute platforms in real time. These systems require connectivity that delivers high bandwidth, deterministic low latency, time synchronization, reliability, scalability, security and cost efficiency. At the same time, the multiple connectivity protocols traditionally used across automotive and industrial control systems can increase system complexity and create performance and scalability challenges as Physical AI systems grow.

Backed by a large, open IEEE ecosystem, Ethernet provides a unified, scalable architecture covering low-speed control, multi-gigabit sensor connectivity and high-speed network backbones, while serving as the foundation for technologies such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), precision time synchronization and secure networking. With its scalability, interoperability and established ecosystem, Ethernet is emerging as the connectivity fabric for Physical AI.

Bringing Multi-Gigabit Ethernet to Physical AI

Published in 2020, IEEE 802.3ch standardized 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps automotive Ethernet connectivity over a single balanced pair. Praxium™ builds on this standards-based foundation with a new generation of PHYs optimized for power consumption, footprint and cabling requirements of Physical AI systems, enabling the design of smaller, more cost-efficient Ethernet-based sensors and media converters.

“The IEEE 802.3ch standard established a powerful foundation for multi-gigabit single-pair Ethernet,” said Yunteng Huang, CEO of Aeonsemi. “With Praxium™, we have dramatically reduced the power and footprint required to deploy that technology while expanding the cabling options available to system designers. We believe Praxium™ PHYs make standards-based multi-gigabit Ethernet practical for a much broader class of Physical AI systems, including humanoid robots, autonomous machines and industrial automation.”

The additional cabling options allow system designers to select the physical medium best suited to each connection, optimizing cable weight, diameter, routing flexibility, EMC performance and cost while maintaining a common Ethernet network across sensors, actuators and backbones.

Praxium™ PHY Family

The Praxium™ PHY family includes single-port and multi-port devices addressing sensor, media-converter and network-backbone applications:

• AS31010: Single-port 10G/5G/2.5G PHY
• AS31510: Single-port 5G/2.5G PHY
• AS31210: Single-port 2.5G PHY
• AS31040: Quad-port 10G/5G/2.5G PHY

Key Benefits of Praxium™ PHYs

• IEEE 802.3ch-compliant: 10GBASE-T1, 5GBASE-T1 and 2.5GBASE-T1 operation for interoperability with other compliant PHYs
• Ultra-low power: As low as 350 mW total chip power for asymmetric 10 Gbps sensor links utilizing Energy-Efficient Ethernet (EEE) on the lower speed uplink
• Ultra-compact footprint: Single-port devices are packaged in a compact 6 × 6 mm QFN package, enabling smaller sensors and media converters
• Expanded cabling: IEEE 802.3ch-compliant operation over STP, with additional support for coax and mini-twinax, enabling designers to optimize cable weight, diameter, routing, EMC performance and cost
• Flexible power delivery: Support for Power over Coax (PoC) and Power over Data Lines (PoDL), reducing cabling requirements for distributed sensors
• Precision synchronization and TSN: IEEE 1588 and IEEE 802.1AS/gPTP support enables precise time synchronization for sensor fusion and TSN-based networks
• Link-layer security: Integrated IEEE 802.1AE MACsec engine supports secure link-layer Ethernet communications
• Automotive-grade reliability: Designed for AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualification

Availability

Praxium™ AS31x1x devices are sampling now with lead customers. Volume production is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. Evaluation boards and reference designs are available through Aeonsemi and its authorized distribution partners. For more information, visit aeonsemi.com.

Source: PR Newswire