ASIX
Encyclopedia
ASIX Electronics Corp. is a fabless semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...

 supplier with a focus on networking, communication, and connectivity applications. ASIX Electronics specializes in network connectivity solutions and provides Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

-centric silicon
Silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...

 products such as non-PCI Ethernet controller, USB 2.0 to LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....

 controller, and network SoC
SOC
SOC or SoC may refer to:Social Networking / Entertainment* Soc.TV, an internet based, social television network* Soldier of ChristBusiness* Sirte Oil Company* South Oil CompanyScience and technology...

 for embedded
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...

 networking applications.

Corporate history

ASIX was founded in May 1995 in Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu Science Park
Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park is an industrial park established by the government of the Republic of China on December 15, 1980 with investment from the Kuomintang. It straddles Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County on the island of Taiwan....

, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. In 2002, ASIX announced its first USB to MII chip.http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800193434_590626_NP_766b49bd.HTM In June 2007, Electronicstalk.com featured the AX11005BF, billed as the industry smallest single-chip embedded Ethernet MCU.http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/asx/asx101.html Electronicstalk.com describes powering embedded systems in a machine to machine world (M2M
Machine to Machine
Machine-to-Machine refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same ability...

) in reference to the AX110xx family of chips.http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/asx/asx100.html

ASIX Electronics introduced the industry’s first:
  • Non-PCI/USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet
    Gigabit Ethernet
    Gigabit Ethernet is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second , as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed...

     Controller
  • Single Chip Microcontroller
    Microcontroller
    A microcontroller is a small computer on a single integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a typically small amount of RAM...

     with TCP/IP, 10/100M Fast Ethernet MAC/PHY, and Flash
  • Industry smallest single chip embedded Ethernet MCU


Asix Electronics saw its revenues jump 59.3% sequentially to NT$31.5 million (US$957,000) in December 2006 on shipments of USB-to-Ethernet controller ICs for Nintendo's Wii consoles, according to market sources. http://my.ocworkbench.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=58805

Products

ASIX uses 8051
Intel 8051
The Intel MCS-51 is a Harvard architecture, single chip microcontroller series which was developed by Intel in 1980 for use in embedded systems. Intel's original versions were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. While Intel no longer manufactures the MCS-51, binary compatible derivatives remain...

 chips supported by the KEIL
KEIL
Keil was founded in 1982 by Günter und Reinhard Keil, initially as a German GbR. In April 1985 the company was converted to Keil Elektronik GmbH to market add-on products for the development tools provided by many of the silicon vendors...

 development tools. http://www.keil.com/dd/parms/asix/8051.htm Products include:
  • Non-PCI/PCMCIA Embedded Ethernet
  • High-speed USB-to-LAN
  • Embedded Network SoC
    SOC
    SOC or SoC may refer to:Social Networking / Entertainment* Soc.TV, an internet based, social television network* Soldier of ChristBusiness* Sirte Oil Company* South Oil CompanyScience and technology...



ASIX is listed as a vendor in the 2007 EDN Microprocessor Directory.http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=mpd2007&industryid=48351

Nintendo Wii Dongle & Compatibility

ASIX manufactures the chipset in the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

 Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

 USB-Ethernet dongle. The Wii is equipped with WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...

 but does not include an Ethernet port; gamers can purchase dongles sold by Nintendo and other manufacturers to give Ethernet capability to the Wii.

According to postings in the official Nintendo forums, a few alternative sources also manufacture a compatible USB network adapter for the Wii, available for purchase through Newegg.com. This video shows a KINAMAX adapter allowing the Wii to go online. A Datel
Datel
Datel is a UK-based electronics and game console peripherals manufacturer. The company is best known for producing a wide range of hardware and peripherals for home computers in the 1980s, for example replacement keyboards for the ZX Spectrum, the PlusD disk interface and the Action Replay series...

adapter also contains the ASIX AX88772 chipset.http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/unofficial-usb-network-dongle-for-wii-found-12130050/ A WDTV wiki page lists a number of Ethernet adapters that use the ASIX AX88772 chip.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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