As AI workloads continue to scale, data centre architects are increasingly constrained by limited signal reach and rising latency, which can leave valuable memory resources underutilised across large GPU clusters. These challenges are amplified as interconnect speeds increase. At 64GT/s (giga transfers per second), signal integrity limitations can restrict system scale and burden server architectures. In response, Microchip Technology has released XpressConnect PCIe 6.0 and CXL 3.1 retimers to enable memory expansion and resource disaggregation in large-scale AI fabrics.
The retimers are designed to extend signal reach beyond conventional PCIe Gen 5 and Gen 6 electrical limits, enabling more flexible system designs across complex baseboards, riser cards and cabled interconnects. The retimers are engineered to help address these challenges by enabling higher bandwidth connectivity while supporting the stringent thermal and power budgets required in modern AI fabrics. XpressConnect retimers achieve a pin to pin latency of less than 12ns, approximately 80% lower than PCIe 6.0 specifications. This low latency performance helps improve utilisation of AI accelerators and GPUs by reducing data stalls in high density AI clusters.
“AI data centres are increasingly constrained not by compute, but by the ability to move data efficiently across the system. As PCIe 6.0 pushes speeds to 64GT/s, signal reach and latency become critical design challenges,” said Brian McCarson, Corporate Vice President and GM of Microchip’s Data Centre Solutions Business Unit. “Our XpressConnect retimers are designed to act as the high‑performance nerve centre of the AI server, helping customers build more scalable, power‑efficient fabrics by reducing latency and improving connectivity across dense GPU clusters. This system‑level approach allows data centre architects to reclaim underutilised resources and improve overall platform efficiency at scale.”
The XpressConnect retimers round out Microchip’s data centre portfolio and are engineered to work alongside the company’s 3nm Switchtec PCIe Gen 6 switches, Adaptec SmartRAID controllers, and Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) and Flashtec NVMe controllers, helping enable a pre validated, interoperable fabric. Microchip’s XpressConnect PCIe Gen 6 and CXL 3.1 retimers can integrate with PCIe Gen 3, Gen 4, and Gen 5 platforms where required, which helps reduce time to market. The retimers also connect into Microchip’s ChipLink diagnostic ecosystem, delivering a unified graphical user interface for real time 2D eye capture and four level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) telemetry. These capabilities help data centre operators monitor link health more effectively and simplify troubleshooting, which can help reduce total cost of ownership.
Engineered as an industry standard, drop in solution, XpressConnect retimers are designed to help reduce the risk of single vendor dependency for hyperscalers. Additionally, the devices support flexible link bifurcation configurations (1×16, 2×8 and 4×4) and align with widely adopted retimer footprint guidelines, while providing enterprise class features such as hot plug support and end to end data integrity. Visit the website to learn more about Microchip Technology’s data centre solutions for high performance compute, storage, and connectivity.
Development tools
Microchip’s ChipLink diagnostic tools offer comprehensive debug, diagnostics, configuration, and analysis through an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). ChipLink connects via in-band PCIe or sideband signals such as UART, TWI and EJTAG, enabling flexible, efficient monitoring and troubleshooting throughout design and deployment.
Pricing and availability
The XpressConnect retimers can be purchased directly from Microchip or contact a Microchip sales representative or authorised worldwide distributor.
