USB/Mass Storage Peripheral Controller for Multimedia Mobile Handsets - Cypress

Cypress introduced West Bridge Antioch controller, a peripheral controller for handset-to-PC connection for rapid transfers of music files, photos and videos. The Antioch controller, the first member of the West Bridge family, offers a direct path from_ high-speed USB 2.0 to the latest handset storage devices such as Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia Card (MMC), Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and NAND Flash. By fully offloading management of USB and storage from_ the main baseband processor, the controller saves critical processor resources and allows a mobile handset to maintain full functionality while simultaneously uploading or downloading multimedia files, synchronizing PIM data, or even using the phone as a PC modem.

The West Bridge Antioch device marks the debut of Cypress’s Simultaneous Link to Independent Multimedia™ (SLIM™) architecture, which manages dedicated paths to allow the Processor Host (P-port), Mass Storage (S-port), and High-Speed USB (U-port) interfaces to connect independently. This innovative architecture, combined with 16 USB endpoints, creates new simultaneous usage models when the phone is connected to a PC, and a better overall user experience.

Alakesh Chetia, director of the West Bridge Business Unit at Cypress said:

Working closely with the leading mobile handset companies, we developed the West Bridge Antioch controller to achieve a new level of performance and connectivity…

…The Antioch controller opens up high-speed data transfer of multimedia files without hindering the primary communication function of the phone

Alan Brown, research director at market research firm Gartner Dataquest said:

The number of phones with music capability will see tremendous growth over the next few years…

…Higher transfer speeds of music and other media to and from_ the phone will make the phone easier to use and more attractive to consumers.

The West Bridge Antioch controller is a dedicated mobile handset solution that features a low-power 1.8-volt core to support an I/O voltage range of 1.8 V to 3.3 V seamlessly interfacing with several generations of handset processors. The device comes in a small 100 ball fpBGA (Fine Pitch Ball Grid Array) package that measures only 6 mm x 6 mm and 0.5-mm pitch. Antioch leverages Cypress’s 0.13-micron C8™ low power process technology to slash dynamic and standby current. Additionally, Antioch supports standard cell phone frequencies such as 19.2 MHz and 26 MHz for clock input, removing the need for an additional crystal.

Key Features of West Bridge(TM): Antioch(TM) USB/Mass Storage Peripheral Controller:

• SLIM(TM) Architecture, allowing simultaneous and independent data paths between Processor & USB and between USB & Mass Storage
• High-Speed USB at 480 Mbps
• USB 2.0 compliant
• Integrated USB 2.0 transceiver, smart Serial Interface Engine
• 16 programmable endpoints
• Mass Storage device support
• MMC/MMC+/SD
• NAND flash: x8 or x16, SLC
• Full NAND management (ECC, wear-leveling)

The Simultaneous Link to Independent Multimedia (SLIM) architecture allows three different interfaces (the P-port, the S-port and the U-port) to connect to one-another independently. With this architecture, connecting a device using Antioch to a PC through USB does not disturb any of the functions of the device, which can still access Mass storage at the same time the PC is synchronizing with the main processor. The SLIM architecture enables new usage models, in which a PC can access a Mass storage device independent of the main processor, or enumerate access to both the mass storage and the main processor at the same time. In a handset, this typically enables the user to use the phone as a thumb drive, or download media files to the phone while still having full functionality available on the phone, or even use the same phone as a modem to connect the PC to the web

Pricing and Availability
The new CYWB0124AB West Bridge Antioch controller meets all USB 2.0 certification criteria and is sampling today with full production expected in first quarter of 2007. Pricing in 500K unit quantities is under $4.