MIPI Alliance publishes latest specs to cut handset cost
New standardized interfaces proposed to link components within the cellphone, to reduce BOM and simplify open design
Published: 17 January, 2012
READ MORE: Semiconductor | Standards | Handset
As the pressure to reduce handset costs intensifies, there has been rising interest in standardized interfaces which can simplify cellphone design. One of these efforts comes from the MIPI Alliance, formed in 2003 by Nokia and Texas Instruments, and now unveiling its latest specifications.
The MIPI interfaces can reduce board space and cost within handsets and allow different components to be mixed and matched. A key breakthrough came last summer, when nine mobile chip majors agreed to support TI's C2C (chip-to-chip link) which allows basebands and processors to share memory. The latest interfaces target the modem and front end radio.
The first, DigRF v4, supports HSPA+, LTE, WiMAX and existing 3GPP standards and enables a single, integrated link between baseband and RF integrated circuits, with options for additional ICs of either kind, using separate connections.
The second addition to the MIPI portfolio is RFFE v1.10, which defines a standardized control architecture for front end radios, and allows for multimode, multiband and multiple antenna configurations. It offers a method for controlling many components, including power amplifiers, filters, switches, power management modules, antenna tuners and sensors - not jujst in simple RF systems but, with its point-to-multipoint connectivity, more complex versions.
Companies contributing to the development of DigRF v4 1.10 included Arasan, Cadence Design, Fujitsu, Intel, Motorola Mobility, Nokia, Panasonic, RIM, ST-Ericsson and Synopsys. Firms with input to RFFE v1.10 were Analog Devices, Fujitsu, Nokia, NXP, Panasonic, Peregrine Semiconductor, RF Micro Devices, Skyworks, ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments and WiSpry - and, most interestingly, Qualcomm, which has generally steered clear of MIPI and relied on its own interfaces.
However, as even midmarket handsets gain large numbers of radios and components, even Qualcomm will increasingly need to buy in more elements from partners, and therefore benefit from open connections. And despite its fame for highly integrated platforms, it is becoming more flexible as it moves into new device segments, and one of MIPI's remits is to make it easier to connect an app processor to any modem or other key product.
Such standardization has a material effect on the bill of materials for a handset. The Alliance has not yet revealed figures for its new interfaces, but the C2C Link can save $2 per phone in BOM, and 115 square millimetres of board space, both important in compact devices retailing well below $50. TI has also proposed C2C as the basis of a new MIPI standard, now emerging as M-PHY LLI, which is already supported in OMAP5.
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