MIPI Alliance and USB 3.0 Promoter Group Collaborate

MIPI Alliance, Inc. and the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced the signing of a letter agreement between the two organizations.

The agreement will facilitate the combined use of the MIPI M-PHY physical layer with the SuperSpeed USB protocol and software layers to produce the SuperSpeed Inter-Chip (SSIC) specification.

Currently under development, the specification will bring M-PHY’s high bandwidth and low power, and the performance enhancements of SuperSpeed USB ‘inside’ the mobile device interface system. The two groups anticipate the SSIC specification will be available to USB adopters in early 2012.    

"USB 3.0 and MIPI Alliance both benefit from this agreement," said Brian O’Rourke, Research Director at In-Stat. "USB 3.0 gains a path inside the box of a number of large, fast growing applications, including mobile phones and digital cameras. And MIPI gains access to the next generation of the world’s most successful interface technology and its software."

The M-PHY interface is a high speed serial interface targeting up to 2.9 gigabits per second (Gbps) per lane with up-scalability to 5.8 Gbps per lane as well as a low pin count and low power efficiency. SuperSpeed USB has a 5 Gbps signaling rate offering a 10x performance increase over High-Speed USB with enhanced protocol and power management while retaining compatibility with the existing USB device and software model.

"Achieving higher performance within the mobile device is at the heart of MIPI Alliance’s efforts," said Joel Huloux, Chairman of the Board of MIPI Alliance. "By joining the M-PHY physical layer with the SuperSpeed USB protocol and software, we believe adopters will benefit from the new mobile, low-power PHY technology."

"By enabling SuperSpeed USB to operate over a physical layer optimized for internal use in mobile devices, a broad range of USB-enabled functions will have the opportunity to migrate into this huge non-PC market," said Brad Saunders, Chairman/Secretary of the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. "It is also possible that this solution will ultimately find its way back into the PC ecosystem for its low-power benefits as a chip-to-chip interface."

About MIPI M-PHY
M-PHY is a physical layer serial interface technology with high bandwidth capabilities, developed specifically for mobile device applications. The first version of the specification was released in 2009 and has received wide usage throughout the industry.

About MIPI Alliance
MIPI Alliance is a global, collaborative organization comprised of companies that span the mobile ecosystem and are committed to defining and promoting interface specifications for mobile devices. MIPI Specifications establish standards for hardware and software interfaces which drive new technology and enable faster deployment of new features and services.