Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: Toshiba Electronics Europe | Subject: Capricorn-A
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 June 2007
SoC simplifies automotive display design
RISC-based system-on-chip processor for automotive displays boasts the industry's highest system level of integration to date.
Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has expanded its family of RISC-based system-on-chip (SoC) processors for automotive displays with an IC that offers the industry's highest system level of integration to date Supplied in a compact QFP package, the new Capricorn-A provides a low-cost, single-chip solution to driving and managing the small size TFTs increasingly found in instrument clusters in medium- to high-end vehicles
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 Nov 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Toshiba's new IC has been developed to support growing demands from vehicle manufacturers to reduce the cost, complexity and component count of implementing TFT displays in sizes from typically 3 to 5in and with resolutions up to half or full VGA.
Such displays are increasingly deployed in instrument clusters where they are often used in conjunction with conventional mechanical gauges.
Capricorn-A significantly reduces component count and complexity through the integration of a powerful 64bit processor, an advanced graphical display controller with dedicated accelerator functions, and a comprehensive range of onboard peripherals and interfaces.
In addition, Toshiba has also integrated embedded DRAM (eDRAM),eliminating the need for external RAM.
This, in turn, helps to reduce component count and board space at the same time as minimising the need for EMI shielding by lowering the number of external PCB tracks required for a fully operational system.
From a commercial perspective eDRAM also reduces manufacturer dependency on the availability and cost of external RAM.
The new SoC features Toshiba's low-power, high-performance MIPS-based TX49/L4 64bit CPU core operating at 120MHz.
Graphics processing and display control capabilities are delivered by an integrated graphics display controller (GDC) together with specialised accelerator engines.
The Capricorn-A graphics functionality includes dedicated hardware engines for cluster graphics and can deliver up to 32bit RGBA colours.
The graphics accelerators enhance the display output through several handling functions offering high quality anti-aliasing that ensure smooth display of changing graphics.
A frame grabber capable of working with a wide variety of input data formats is available for the capture and processing of video images, supporting applications such as rear view monitoring.
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