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MIPI Debug for I3C v1.0 allows for efficient debug and test

September 30, 2020 By Redding Traiger Leave a Comment

The MIPI Alliance announced the public availability of MIPI Debug for I3C v1.0, a flexible and scalable debug and test specification for systems that enable 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, and other applications. This new specification, built on the MIPI I3Cv1.1 (and MIPI I3C Basic v1.0) utility and control bus, allows system designers to efficiently and dynamically debug and test application processors, power management integrated circuits, modems, and other power-managed components across a system of any size via the low-bandwidth MIPI I3C interface, which requires a minimal set of pins.

Legacy low-bandwidth interfaces such as JTAG/cJTAG, I²C and UART that are structured statically impose limitations on the accessibility of debug components and devices—for example, when they’re in low-power mode. MIPI Debug for I3C overcomes these restrictions by building on key MIPI I3C v1.1 features. MIPI Debug for I3C delivers multi-component connectivity across either dedicated debug or shared bus topologies, requires only two wires, supports multiple entry points, and maintains a network even as components power down and off a network and then rejoin after powering back up.

The interface transports debug controls and data between a debug and test system (DTS) and a target system (TS). The TS exposes multiple debug interfaces/ports from a single physical connection, and the DTS then sends broadcast or directed action requests (halt, reset, etc.). Event indications can be sent via in-band interrupts (IBIs), and communication takes place over defined, byte-oriented streaming interface ports that can support different protocols. No special I3C controller hardware is required.

Leveraging MIPI I3C’s multi-drop, two-wire architecture, as well as its existing common command codes (CCCs) and device “hot-join” ability, Debug for I3C supports key specialized extensions for debug and trace, including: defining debug-specific CCCs for configuration, function selection, and action/event triggers and interrupts; assigning specific Mandatory Data Byte (MDB) values to indicate debug IBIs; standardizing data-exchange mechanisms for predefined port-based communication.

MIPI v3.0 enables more rapid and dynamic configuration changes for RF front-end subsystems

May 13, 2020 By Aimee Kalnoskas Leave a Comment

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today announced the release of MIPI RF Front End Control Interface (MIPI RFFE) v3.0. The latest version of the world’s de facto standard interface for control of radio frequency (RF) front-end (FE) subsystems, MIPI RFFE v3.0 is designed to deliver the tighter timing precision and reduced latencies that manufacturers need today to advance the rollout of 5G around the world.

Features in v3.0 bring significant new capabilities to the well-established MIPI specification. Since its initial release a decade ago, RFFE has been deployed in billions of device in virtually every device with cellular connectivity including handsets, smartwatches and automobiles, to name a few.

MIPI RFFE simplifies the design, configuration, and integration of the increasingly complex RF front end—which encompasses the power amplifiers, antenna tuners, filters, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and switches—connecting with the modem baseband and/or RF integrated circuit (RFIC) transceiver. As the number of RF bands involved in both uplink and downlink communications has exploded in the rollout of 5G, the subcarrier spacing (SCS) windows among RF packets have narrowed. MIPI RFFE v3.0 addresses the decreased reconfiguration windows and lower-latency switching among various bands and band combinations demanded in the 3GPP 5G standard by delivering enhanced triggering features and functionality, which results in fast, agile, semi-automated and comprehensive control of individual RFFE subsystems.

MIPI RFFE v3.0 utilizes multiple, complementary triggers to synchronize and schedule changes in register settings, either within a slave device or across multiple devices:

Timed triggers—Allows for tighter, synchronized timing control of multiple carrier aggregation configurations
Mappable triggers—Enables groups of control functions to be remapped to other triggers quickly and easily
Extended triggers—Boosts the number of unique triggers available in the RF control system and accommodates increasingly complex radio architectures

With the enhanced triggering functions, MIPI RFFE v3.0 improves throughput efficiencies and reduces packet latency, while also improving the precision in trigger placement. For back-to-back triggering operations, for example, the specification delivers a 20x improvement in timing precision.

Because MIPI RFFE v3.0 is backward compatible with prior generations of the specification, original equipment manufacturers and device vendors can migrate to 5G systems more quickly and easily, without changes to the physical layer of the control interface. The RFFE specification was initially released in 2010 and has seen numerous revisions since that time. Each release has provided additional functionality for developers to aid in the demand for newer RF front-end features.

MIPI has scheduled a webinar, “A New MIPI RFFE for the Emerging 5G Era,” on June 2, 2020, at 11 am EDT, 8 am PDT, to further explore the features and benefits of MIPI RFFE v3.0 and provide an update on the RFFE ecosystem. To register, please visit https://bit.ly/3ckJggl. Also, a variety of resources on the specification are available.

MIPI A-PHY spec underway for ADS, ADAS and surround sensor applications

August 2, 2018 By Aimee Kalnoskas Leave a Comment

The MIPI Alliance has mapped a course to address the automotive industry’s needs for high-speed data interface specifications. With development of the MIPI A-PHY physical layer specification already underway to meet 12-24 gigabits per second (Gbps), requirements gathering has begun to support higher speeds including over 48 Gbps for display and other use cases. When complete, these specifications will serve a broad spectrum of the industry’s connectivity needs.

Technology and automotive companies are invited to join the many MIPI Alliance members already involved in these efforts. Companies participating in the MIPI Automotive Working Group include: Analog Devices, Inc., Analogix Semiconductor, Inc., BitifEye Digital Test Solutions GmbH, Cadence Design Systems, Inc., Fraunhofer IIS, Intel Corporation, Keysight Technologies Inc., L&T Technology Services, MediaTek Inc., Microchip Technology Inc., Mixel, Inc., Mobileye, an Intel Company, NXP Semiconductors, OmniVision Technologies, Inc., ON Semiconductor, Parade Technologies Ltd., Prodigy Technovations Pvt. Ltd., Qualcomm Incorporated, Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Socionext Inc., Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, Inc., Tektronix, Inc., Teledyne LeCroy, Toshiba Corporation, University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab, Valens Semiconductors and others

MIPI A-PHY v1.0 is expected to be available to developers in late 2019. The specification will optimize wiring, cost and weight requirements, as high-speed data, control data and optional power share the same physical wiring. The asymmetric nature of the MIPI A-PHY link, its point-to-point topology and its reuse of generations of mobile protocols promise overall lower complexity, power consumption and system costs for developers and automotive OEMs. It’s anticipated that the first vehicles using A-PHY components will be in production in 2024.

In addition to automotive uses, the configuration of the specification will be well suited for applications such as IoT and industrial..

Common data format for transmitting software trace, debug information now available

April 26, 2018 By Aimee Kalnoskas Leave a Comment

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today released MIPI System Software Trace (MIPI SyS-T), a common data format for transmitting software trace and debug information between a test system and a device, such as a system-on-chip (SoC) or platform. The specification is publicly available to developers, and an accompanying example implementation library is accessible via GitHub.

Until now, available methods have been vendor-specific or based on major operating systems and there has been no independent format for exchanging debug information across software, firmware or hardware implementations. This fragmentation has been challenging for developers because devices typically incorporate software and components from different vendors, which increases debugging complexity and drives up development costs.

The specification also complements and strengthens the MIPI Alliance debug and test portfolio because it can be used with any MIPI Alliance debugging tool or transport protocol.

MIPI SyS-T is scalable, applicable when debugging resource-constrained devices or robust, complex systems. Industries expected to benefit from the specification include wearables, smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), automotive systems and many other devices and applications.

The specification includes the trace formatting method as well as an optional MIPI SyS-T Instrumentation Library, which includes APIs and documentation that developers can use to jumpstart their use of the specification rather than starting from scratch.

Developers can access MIPI SyS-T by visiting http://bit.ly/2HtAwG1, which provides a link to the specification and the GitHub resources. MIPI Alliance encourages developers to use, modify and share the example SyS-T library, provide feedback and interact with others in the user community.

To discover more about MIPI Alliance and to connect with its social networks, follow its Twitter page, join its LinkedIn group and like its Facebook page. To join MIPI Alliance, use the Join MIPI link on the organization’s site.