Graphics controller goes mobile

The SSD1961 is a power-saving graphics controller for mobile applications and other energy sensitive equipment such as room temperature controllers.

Solomon Systech has introduced the SSD1961 graphics controller for mobile applications including smartphones and portable media players (PMPs), but also for energy sensitive applications such as room temperature controllers or controls for window blinds.

The SSD1961 supports resolutions of up to 640 x 480 pixels (VGA) at up to 18bit colour depth.

The device also includes 675Kbyte of embedded display SRAM, which serves as frame buffer between the host processor and the LCD.

The on-chip integrated LCD and MCU interfaces reduce the wiring effort to a minimum.

The SSD1961 supports different types of monochrome, colour, active and passive LCDs including 4/8bit monochrome/colour STNs, 12/18bit active matrix TFTs and 16bit HR TFTs with 160 x 160 and 320 x 240 pixel.

The universal built parallel 8/16bit controller interface enables the connection of CPUs from different manufacturers.

The SSD1961 contains an integrated graphics engine, which allows display rotation by 90, 180 and 270 degrees.

The hardware implemented display rotation is significantly more efficient than the usual software solutions, where the content of the display buffer must be entirely rewritten every time.

The graphics engine also supports a "virtual display" mode that allows viewing of portions from a larger image by means of panning and scrolling of the display.

Furthermore, the implemented "floating window" mode enables the overlaying of various size windows on the main window.

For improved image quality, brightness, contrast and colour saturation can each be separately set and programmed.

To extend the battery life in mobile applications, the SSD1961 uses an innovative dynamic backlight control technology.

The sophisticated algorithm of this technology helps to reduce backlight power consumption by up to 50%.

The four general-purpose inputs/outputs (GPIOs) require a supply voltage of between 1.8 and 3.3V and the controller core itself 1.2V.

The SSD1961 is available in a 64-pin TFBGA package with a footprint of only 5 x 5mm.

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