The BCM5208 is a monolithic CMOS integrated circuit containing four transceivers that each perform all the physical layer interface functions for 10BASE-T Ethernet on CAT 3, 4, 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable, 100BASE-TX Ethernet on CAT5 UTP cable, and 100BASE-FX Ethernet on 62.5/125-µm multimode fiber optic cable.
The BCM5208 employs the use of digital signal processing and full custom circuit design techniques to create a highly integrated and robust physical layer solution for Fast Ethernet switches and multisegment repeaters. It complies fully with the IEEE 802.3u physical layer Media Independent Interface (MII) and auto-negotiation subsections, providing compatibility with all industry-standard Fast Ethernet MAC and repeater chips.