Infineon Reference Design Enables 20Gbps Data Over 5-Meter Passive Cables

Industrial machine vision systems often struggle with signal degradation when connecting high-speed components over longer distances. Infineon addressed this bottleneck by releasing a reference design for a USB-C 20Gbps PCIe Add-In Card (AIC). This hardware solution allows manufacturers to maintain reliable data integrity across 5-meter passive cables, removing a common physical constraint in automated scanning and inspection workflows.

Industrial machine vision systems gain reliable long-distance connectivity

The reference design centers on a PCIe expansion card that bridges high-speed computing with flexible peripheral connectivity. It features an upstream interface utilizing PCIe Gen4 x4 to ensure robust data throughput to the host system. The card includes two downstream USB-C ports, each capable of delivering 36W of power delivery (PD) output for connected devices.

Specifications

• Upstream Interface: PCIe Gen4 x4
• USB Host Controller: ASMedia ASM4242
• USB PD Controller: Infineon EZ-PD CCG7
• Downstream Ports: 2x USB-C
• PD Output Power: 36W

Engineers can build this solution using specific controller chips to handle the complex signal requirements. The design integrates an ASMedia ASM4242 USB4 host controller to manage data transmission protocols. It also employs an Infineon EZ-PD CCG7 USB PD controller to regulate power delivery and port negotiation.

Infineon states that this 20Gbps configuration provides twice the bandwidth of previous generation products. The company highlights that the design solves signal integrity challenges that typically limit industrial applications. This reference architecture gives system integrators a validated path to implement long-distance high-speed data transfer without custom PHY development.

This release provides a standardized hardware blueprint for industrial automation and machine vision projects. It confirms that 20Gbps transmission over 5-meter passive cables is achievable with current controller technology. Manufacturers can use this design to build systems that require both high-speed data and power delivery over extended distances.