Twisted pair and attachment unit interface (AUI) coding and transceiving circuit with full duplex, testing, and isolation modes

摘要

An Ethernet circuit which provides encoder, decoder, twisted pair transceiver, and AUI interface functions in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 standard. In addition, the Ethernet circuit provides a full duplex function for independent transmit and receive paths, a test function which allows testing of the circuit without disturbing the twisted pair medium and regardless of activity on the medium, and an isolation function which allows the Ethernet circuit to be connected to a serial network interface controller in parallel with other devices. The Ethernet circuit can include a twisted pair driver that includes a filter function, a shielded/unshielded cable driver function, and a low idle current driver function.