Cypress EZ-PD CCG5 Two-Port Controller Qualified for Intel Thunderbolt 3 PCs and Peripherals

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced that its programmable, EZ-PD CCG5 two-port USB-C controller with Power Delivery (PD) has been qualified by Intel Corp. for use in Thunderbolt 3 host and peripheral designs.

Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C enables data transfers at speeds up to 40Gb/s via a compact port with the ability to transmit multiple protocols and provide fast device charging. Reference designs are available to enable fast time-to-market for PCs, docking stations, HDDs and a variety of other peripherals.

EZ-PD CCG5 controller was a two-port USB-C controller to support Thunderbolt 3 controllers. EZ-PD CCG5 enhances the plug-and-play USB-C user experience, while providing bill-of-material  (BOM) integration with features such as built-in protection against shorts and electrostatic discharge. The integrated controller increases the reliability of a system by integrating flash memory that can store two firmware images for fail-safe boot. It offers the EZ-PD family’s trademark programmability to keep up with evolving industry standards.

“The combination of Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C allows a notebook to drive multiple 4K displays while simultaneously charging the notebook over the same port,” said Ajay Srikrishna, VP, wired connectivity business unit, Cypress. “As part of the Thunderbolt 3 design ecosystem, our programmable, two-port EZ-PD CCG5 controller is helping to drive the proliferation of USB-C in desktop and notebook PCs, docking stations and peripherals.“

“Thunderbolt 3 brings Thunderbolt to USB-C at speeds up to 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps), creating one compact port that does it all: connecting to monitors, Thunderbolt devices, and billions of USB devices,” said Jason Ziller, GM, client connectivity division, Intel. “Intel is pleased to have Cypress, an industry veteran, now providing solutions that broaden the options available to the ecosystem of Thunderbolt 3 based computers and peripherals.“

The one-chip EZ-PD CCG5 solution minimizes BOM costs for two USB-C ports by integrating 20V regulators, sideband (SBU) muxes, USB high-speed (HS) muxes, high-voltage power FET gate drivers, VBUS-short protection for configuration channel (CC) and SBU pins, dedicated hardware to protect the system against over-voltage, under-voltage and over-current fault conditions, and system-level electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. The controller also integrates an ARM Cortex-M0 and 128KB flash for fail-safe firmware upgradeability.

The USB Type-C and Power Delivery standards are gaining rapid support with top-tier electronics manufacturers by enabling slim industrial designs, easy-to-use connectors and cables, and the ability to transmit multiple protocols and deliver up to 100W of power. The USB Type-C standard’s 2.4-mm-high connector plug is smaller than the current 4.5-mm USB Standard-A connector.

Resource:
Cypress’ USB-C and USB-PD solutions