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Texas Instruments Releases Open Specification for mini-LVDS Display Technology Used in Energy-Efficient LCD Panels
Growing Family of TI Products Supports mini-LVDS
DALLAS, (March 14, 2001) -- The mini-LVDS (low voltage differential signaling) interface specification used to interface the timing controller to the source drivers for driving high-resolution liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in notebook PCs and LCD monitors is now available royalty-free from Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN). Developed by TI in conjunction with IBM Corporation, the mini-LVDS specification reduces by 60 percent the number of signal traces required in LCD control modules, resulting in simpler board layouts, increased performance, lower costs, reduced electromagnetic interference (EMI) and more energy efficient LCDs for flat panel displays. Availability of the open specification will increase supply options for LCD manufacturers wanting to use this new and innovative mini-LVDS technology, helping to decrease risk and costs for system developers. (See www.ti.com/sc/msds5942u).
TI has also added a new high-speed LCD chipset to its family of products supporting the mini-LVDS interface. TI's new TFP74x3 LCD Timing Controller and TMS57538 LCD Source Driver offer the advantages of high resolution and savings in board space and cost for flat panel display resolutions ranging from XGA, with 1024x768 pixels, up to QXGA, with 2048x1536 pixels. The mini-LVDS chipset is manufactured using a new process that lowers power consumption from TI's earlier-generation mini-LVDS chipset, consisting of the TFP7401 LCD timing controller and TMS57534 LCD source driver. The TFP7401 chipset, now in production, is in use by IBM for its high-resolution panels; and the TFP74x3 chipset is currently being designed into IBM's flagship high-resolution panels.
"We are pleased with the successful results we have achieved through collaborating with Texas Instruments on its TFP7401 mini-LVDS chipset," said Kazuhiko Kitagawa, Manager of Mobile Product Development, IBM's Display Business Unit. "The mini-LVDS technology will bring a new open standard solution to the industry and help accelerate the development of high resolution displays that are thinner and lighter, as well as have reduced EMI."
The mini-LVDS specification is an extension of the industry-standard LVDS technology widely used in other parts of the LCD display system. Mini-LVDS enables designers to rapidly develop systems that enhance performance while reducing the EMI, power and costs of the LCD display. Compared to conventional CMOS parallel data transfer, mini-LVDS allows for reliable transfer with less than half the number of signal traces, reducing electrical noise, power consumption, package pin counts, board space and overall system cost. Unlike many technologies that are proprietary and require the payment of licensing fees and endless royalties, mini-LVDS was developed by TI as an open specification that all chip manufacturers could leverage in order to deliver optimized LCD solutions without licensing costs.
TI's high performance mini-LVDS chipset doubles the speed of competitive products and supports QXGA, the highest-resolution display standard in the industry today. Designed for flexibility, the chipset supports a wide range of other display standards as well as both 18-bit and true 24-bit color. The mini-LVDS interface provides a low-EMI, low-power output from the controller to an array of 6-bit, 122-megahertz (MHz) TMS57538 source drivers that directly signal the LCD pixels.
"TI's Display Solutions Business Unit developed the mini-LVDS specification as the next step in high-resolution LCD technology," said Bob Welch, Worldwide Marketing Manager, mini-LVDS, TI. "The new mini-LVDS chipset enables LCD manufacturers to keep performance high and costs low for next-generation LCD displays."
TI's TFP74x3 mini-LVDS chipset is scheduled for sampling in the second quarter of 2001, with volume production scheduled for the third quarter. The TFP7401 chipset is sampling now, with volume production scheduled for the second quarter. The TFP74x3 and TFP7401 controllers are available in a 100-lead thin quad flatpack (TQFP), and the TMS57538 and TMS57534 source drivers are available with chip-on-film (COF) or tape-chip-package (TCP) mounting. Please contact TI or a TI Authorized Distributor for pricing.
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