TransDimension, SMSC to achieve USB-IF certification

TransDimension Inc. and SMSC have announced the completion of high-speed USB compliance testing of the industry's first controller/transceiver solution utilizing the new UTMI+ Low Pin Interface (ULPI).

TransDimension's high-speed USB controller IP, a ULPI interface block, and SMSC's USB3300 ULPI stand-alone physical layer transceiver (PHY), have passed the high-speed USB implementers forum (USB-IF) compliance testing using the new ULPI interface. ULPI modifies the UTMI+ link/PHY interface to significantly reduce the pin count for discrete USB transceiver implementations supporting host, device and on-the-go (OTG) functionality. This low pin count interface allows for transceivers to be kept separate from the associated digital ASICs as the technology nodes become smaller and integrating the PHY becomes more complex and expensive.

John Cassidento, IP marketing manager, TransDimension, said, "By implementing external PHYs with a proven, low pin count interface such as ULPI, SoC manufacturers will be able to keep this difficult analog technology out of their designs and thus lower risk and improve time-to-market. We are proud to have SMSC as a proven, certified partner for our high-speed IP."

Steve Nelson, VP of marketing for connectivity solutions at SMSC, added, "As we ramp production of the USB3300, we will deliver significant cost and time-to-market benefits to ASIC and SoC designers for a broad range of portable consumer electronics applications. Partnering with TransDimension has significantly accelerated interoperability testing between the USB3300 and TransDimension's ULPI Link, resulting in a ULPI solution that is ready to support customers developing broad-based ASIC and SoC solutions."