NEC 3G chip enables high-speed transmission

July 23, 2004

NEC Electronics introduced the uPD161451 bridge IC for 3G mobile phone handsets, a chip that facilitates development of handsets with rotating high-resolution TFT displays.

It leverages the advanced technology of NEC Electronics' Mobile CMADS (Current Mode Advanced Differential Signaling) high-speed serial interface.

Recent evolutions in mobile handsets have seen increasing popularity in handset designs with rotating or revolving high-resolution, thin-film transistor (TFT) displays. Compared to previous clamshell designs, the part that connects the display to the main body in these new phones is much narrower, necessitating different design requirements such as a significant reduction in the number of data transmission lines that cross this segment.

The uPD161451 bridge IC has features that help manufacturers implement high-speed serial interfaces in mobile handsets. Compared to standard parallel interfaces, the chip's serial interface can reduce the typical number of image data transmission lines from 18 lines to four lines, freeing up valuable real estate in the thin passageway that connects the display to the main body of the phone. The chip itself also has the smallest-in-class dimensions of 4mm x 4mm, further contributing to board space. In addition, the Mobile CMADS technology enables 128Mbps high-speed data transmission while reducing electromagnetic (EMI) noise by 90% and maintaining low power consumption.

The uPD161451 bridge IC is designed for use in the main body of the mobile handset. When paired with one of NEC Electronics' five LCD driver ICs (installed in the display portion), manufacturers can achieve high-speed serial transmission without modifying their existing baseband LSI or data processing unit. This serial-serial pairing reportedly is the first of its kind in the industry.

The bridge IC and driver IC convert parallel signals to serial and transmit the data to a compatible driver IC housed in the TFT-LCD display panel.