C/D-PHY Combo

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D-PHY Universal Lane Overview

C-PHY Universal Lane Overview

C-PHY running at 8.0Gsps

The Mixel MIPI C/D-PHY combo IP (MXL-CPHY-DPHY) is a high-frequency low-power, low cost, physical layer compliant with the MIPI^® Alliance Standard for C-PHY and D-PHY. (Learn more about Mixel’s MIPI ecosystem at Mixel MIPI Central which gives you access to Mixel’s best of class MIPI ecosystem supply chain partners.)

The PHY can be configured as a MIPI Primary (Master) or MIPI Secondary (Slave), supporting camera interface CSI-2 v4.0.1 or display interface DSI v2.1 applications in the D-PHY mode. It also supports camera interface CSI-2 v4.0.1 and display interface DSI-2 v2.1 applications in the C-PHY mode. The high-speed signals have a low voltage swing, while low-power signals have large swing. High-Speed functions are used for high-speed data traffic while low-power functions are mostly used for control.

The C-PHY is based on 3-Phase symbol encoding technology, delivering 2.28 bits per symbol over three-wire trios, operating with a symbol rate range of 80 to 8000 Msps per lane, which is the equivalent of about 182.8 to 18240 Mbps per lane.

The D-PHY supports a bit rate range of 80 to 1500 Mbps per Lane without deskew calibration, and up to 6500 Mbps with deskew calibration.

The low-power mode and escape mode are the same in both the D-PHY and C-PHY modes. To minimize EMI, the drivers for low-power mode are slew-rate controlled and current limited. The data rate in low-power mode is 10 Mbps. For a fixed clock frequency, the available data capacity of a PHY configuration can be increased by using more lanes. Effective data throughput can be reduced by employing burst mode communication.

Mixel’s C-PHY/D-PHY combo is a complete PHY, silicon-proven at multiple foundries and multiple nodes. The C/D-PHY is fully integrated and has analog circuitry, digital, and synthesizable logic.

The Mixel MIPI C-PHY/D-PHY Combo (MXL-CPHY-DPHY) Features:

• Dual mode PHY can support C-PHY and D-PHY
• Supports MIPI^® D-PHY Specification Version 3.5 with backwards compatibility for vv3.0, v2.5, 2.1, v1.2, and v1.1
• Supports MIPI C-PHY Specification Version 2.1 with backwards compatibility for v2.0, v1.1, and v1.2
• Four lanes in D-PHY mode and three lanes in C-PHY mode
• Supports both high-speed and low-power modes
• 80 Mbps to 1.5 Gbps data rate per lane in D-PHY mode without deskew calibration
• Up to 6.5 Gbps data rate per lane in D-PHY mode with deskew calibration
• 80 Msps to 8.0 Gsps symbol rate per lane in C-PHY high-speed mode
• Equivalent to 182.8 Mbps to 18.24 Gbps per lane in C-PHY high-speed mode
• 10 Mbps data rate in low-power mode
• Low power dissipation
• Loopback testability (BIST) support
• Optional resistance termination calibrator
• Deskew calibration support in D-PHY

The Mixel MIPI C/D-PHY combo (MXL-CPHY-DPHY) has many benefits including:

• Area overhead is minimized by reusing all of the D-PHY blocks for the C-PHY operation and sharing of all the serial interface pins
• Comprehensive embedded DFT features for allowing cost-effective high-volume manufacturing tests
• Support for full-speed internal loopback testability with minimal area overhead for high-volume manufacturing tests in the C/D-PHY Universal, TX+, and RX+ configurations

In addition, the Mixel MIPI C-PHY v2.1/MIPI D-PHY v2.5 has additional benefits including:

• Support for MIPI D-PHY v2.5 and MIPI C-PHY v2.1 features not available in previous versions of the specifications such as Spread Spectrum Clocking (SSC) and transmit equalization (de-emphasis)
• Support for new power saving functionality such as HS-TX half swing mode and HS-RX unterminated mode
• Support for new Alternate LP Mode, suitable for IoT applications with long channels, enabling Fast Bus Turnaround

Mixel’s Production Ready Offering (“PRO IP”): MIPI C-PHY/D-PHY Combo IP