Package Variation Provides More Host System Design Flexibility

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND –– MARCH, 01, 2022 –– Kandou, an innovative leader in high-speed, energy- efficient chip-to-chip link solutions to improve the way the world connects and communicates, today began volume production of its second variation in the Matterhorn family of USB4™ retimers.

Our ability to deliver a compelling USB4 retimer is reinforced with this announcement. KB8002 has already been adopted and successfully implemented by many OEMs and ODMs developing mobile and desktop PCs.

Other applications for Matterhorn retimer solutions include docking stations, adaptors, gaming consoles and peripheral devices.

KB8002 is a fully qualified and compliant-ready retimer solution for Thunderbolt™ 3, USB4, USB 3.2, DisplayPort 1.4a protocols. To ensure quality, the retimer underwent extensive interoperability testing in Kandou labs on more than 500 host, device and cable combinations, including recommended known good products by the USB-IF.

KB8002 is a package-only variant of KB8001, the first USB4 retimer in the Matterhorn product family of USB-C® multiprotocol retimer solutions. KB8002 simplifies PCB routing through a carefully designed pinout and dual-pitch package design that enables use of standard Type 3 PCB processes for lower manufacturing costs.

The retimer also supports superior PCB channel performance with greater than 2X improvement over competitive solutions through the implementation of autonomous RX equalization that dynamically corrects extreme and variable channel characteristics. This enables OEMs and ODMs to support more flexible retimer placement and PCB routing for much longer traces without requiring constant retuning.

Kandou’s KB8002 USB4 retimer is shipping in volume production. An evaluation kit and full product documentation are available to support customer evaluations and implementation of KB8002 in laptop, notebook, desktop and other host systems that plan to support USB4.

Availability and Pricing

Samples of KB8002 and evaluation kits are available now. Pricing is available on request.

See the Matterhorn product page for additional information or requests for a demonstration. Email requests should be sent to sales@kandou.com.