Cypress Introduces Industry's First Address/Data Multiplexed Dual-Ports for Seamless Inter-Processor Connectivity in Dual-Processor Mobile Handsets

Business Wire, Sept 11, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Newest MoBL(TM) Devices Offer the High Throughput, Low Power and Small Footprint Required of Interconnect Solutions in 3G/3.5G Smartphones with Multimedia Functionality

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY) today added six new members to its family of asynchronous dual-port memory based inter-processor connectivity solutions for next-generation smartphones. The new More Battery Life(TM) (MoBL(TM)) Dual Ports are the first to integrate an Address/Data Multiplexed (ADM) interface. The ADM interface allows for a direct interconnect between the application and baseband processors in 3G and 3.5G smartphones that provide video, music, games and other multimedia functions.

Consumers today are increasingly using mobile phones for multimedia, data-organization, Internet-access and entertainment purposes. These bandwidth-hungry functions combined with the ever-widening wireless pipeline (W-CDMA, HSDPA, WiMax) are causing a 10x increase in the processing requirements for smartphones. To allocate sufficient dedicated I/Os for these functions, next generation processors have an ADM external memory interface (EMI) freeing up address/data pins. Cypress's MoBL ADM Dual Ports enable a direct interconnect with these application and baseband processors in dual-processor smartphones, reducing system costs and board space (with no external latches) and providing a faster and simpler design cycle.

"Cypress has established a leadership position in inter-processor connectivity solutions for mobile handsets, and our new MoBL ADM Dual Ports carry our lead to the latest generation of smartphones," said Vikas Dhurka, product manager in Cypress's Data Communications Division. "With a fixed ADM interface on one port and a selectable ADM or standard interface on the other port, MoBL ADM Dual Ports provide a comprehensive interconnect solution to 3G and 3.5G application and baseband processors. This allows handset designers to design dual-processor smartphones quickly without having to worry about different processor interfaces."

New multimedia functions and wireless standards call for a high-throughput, low-power interconnect in dual-processor mobile handsets. With access times as low as 65 ns, MoBL ADM Dual Ports can provide up to 246 Mbps throughput -- the highest in the industry. Cypress's low-power MoBL technology enables the interconnects to operate with only 2 uA typical standby current, providing up to 50% power savings during inter-processor communication over traditional interconnects such as UART, I2C and USB1.1 technology. The MoBL family of dual-port interconnects is the most flexible in the industry with 64 Kb, 128 Kb and 256 Kb densities. The devices have up to 4 Kb of memory space that can be configured in a x16 or x8 bus mode. MoBL ADM Dual Ports come in ultra-small 6 mm x 6 mm, 0.5 mm pitch, 100-ball vfBGA (very fine Ball Grid Array) packages.

About the MoBL Dual-Port Interconnect Family

Today's mobile handsets include advanced features such as the ability to record video, play music, send multimedia messages and deliver 3D games. These handsets also face the challenge of newer faster wireless standards and increased OS functionalities. Many manufacturers have adopted a multi-processor system architecture to address the increased processing demands created by these functions. Members of the MoBL dual-port interconnect family are designed with two independent SRAM interfaces to allow processors to exchange data efficiently, enabling the baseband and application subsystems to evolve independent of each other. Each subsystem can be self-contained with minimal software design effort for interprocessor communication.

Availability and Pricing

Cypress's new MoBL ADM dual ports are available today with 10ku pricing starting at $3.20.

Photo

A high-resolution photo of the new MoBL ADM Dual Port interconnects can be downloaded at: www.cypress.com/MoBLdp_photo.> About Cypress

Cypress solutions perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar. Leveraging proprietary silicon processes, Cypress's product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit us at www.cypress.com.

Cypress and the Cypress logo are registered trademarks and More Battery Life and MoBL are trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.