Design Requirements for Automotive Ethernet PoDL Compatible Connectors

Ethernet technology has a promising future in the automotive industry. Data rates ranging from 10Mbps to 10Gbps are being, or already have been, standardized. To reduce the amount of cabling, a technology known as Power over Data Line (PoDL) has been developed that enables the data and power to share the same pair of wires. This paper will discuss the connector requirements needed to ensure safe power transmission for these PoDL voltages, and demonstrate a design that meets these requirements.