Programmable interface bridges target ADAS

Article By : Lattice Semiconductor

The ECP5 has high-speed SERDES channels for video interfaces and the CrossLink MIPI D-PHY bridge delivers 4K UHD resolution at 12Gbps.

Lattice Semiconductor has expanded its automotive product portfolio with ECP5 and CrossLink programmable devices, which are tailored specifically for interface bridging applications.

The two products deliver optimised connectivity solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and infotainment applications, while also bridging the gap between emerging image sensor and video display interfaces with legacy automotive interfaces, according to the company.

“The CMOS image sensor market is projected for solid growth over the next five years,” said Rob Lineback, senior market research analyst at IC Insights. “Automotive systems are forecasted to be the fastest growing application for CMOS image sensors with a compounded annual growth rate of 55% to $2.2 billion in 2020, or about 14% of the market’s projected $15.2 billion total.”

Dramatic advances in mobile application processors, the rapid proliferation of low cost image sensors and displays, and the widespread adoption of MIPI standard interfaces has accelerated innovation in automotive applications over the past few years. Ideally each device in a system would interface directly to the applications processor, but this is not always the case. This problem is even more compounded as the use of mobile platforms in automotive applications increases. Interface bridging devices solve this problem by supporting a wide range of interfaces and protocols including MIPI D-PHY, MIPI CSI-2, MIPI DSI as well as a long list of legacy video interfaces and protocols such as CMOS, RGB, MIPI DPI, MIPI DBI, SubLVDS, SLVS, LVDS and OpenLDI.

“The automotive industry has seen a proliferation of cameras and sensors being added inside vehicles to keep pace with technology advances and requirements for ADAS and infotainment applications,” said Deepak Boppana, director of marketing at Lattice Semiconductor. “This dynamic has resulted in interface mismatches between mobile image sensors, application processors, and embedded displays used in these applications."

Key features of the ECP5 and CrossLink automotive devices include:

ECP5

• Cost optimised architecture with high-speed SERDES channels to provide video interfaces to Open LDI, LVDS FPD-Link, eDP, PCIe and GigE.
• Small packages with high functional density.
• Low power consumption.
• Pre/post processing (i.e., image signal processing).
• Software support in Lattice Diamond 3.8.

CrossLink

• MIPI D-PHY bridging device that delivers up to 4K UHD resolution at 12Gbps bandwidth.
• Supports popular mobile, camera, display and legacy interfaces such as MIPI D-PHY, MIPI CSI-2, MIPI DSI, MIPI DPI, CMOS and SubLVDS, LVDS and more.
• Industry’s smallest package size with a 6mm2 option.
• Lowest power programmable bridging solution in active mode.
• Built-in sleep mode.
• Software support in Lattice Diamond 3.8.

Samples of the ECP5 and CrossLink automotive devices are available upon request.