MIPI Design & Test

Keysight Technologies

MIPI Design & Test

Gain Insights Into Your Best Design

Mobile devices are driving the needs for higher performance and lower power usage.

Introduction

The constant addition of capabilities to smartphones and tablets has brought a proliferation of interfaces between processors and devices such as microphones, cameras, loudspeakers, displays, and peripheral electrical devices. This has made ASIC development and system integration of mobile devices an increasingly complex task.

The MIPI® Alliance

The MIPI Alliance is a standard body that promotes hardware and software standardization in mobile designs in an effort to streamline the integration of so many different and rapidly changing technologies. The mission of the Alliance is to benefit the entire mobile industry by establishing standards for hardware and software interfaces within mobile devices. The Alliance believes that openness and standardization fuel market growth for mobile devices, as well as addresses numerous roadblocks currently facing designers, developers, and manufacturers. Currently, more than 250 member companies (including Keysight Technologies, Inc.) actively participate in the Alliance, developing specifications which drive consistency in processor and peripheral interfaces, promoting reuse and compatibility in mobile devices. The specifications it has generated maximize design reuse, drive innovation and reduce time-to-market for all participants.

In contrast to other digital standards, such as USB or PCIe, which are monolithic, i.e. contain both protocol as well as physical (PHY) layers, most of the high-speed MIPI standards are not, i.e. different protocols reside on the same common PHY-layer.

Introduction (continued)

The D-PHY and C-PHY Physical layers support the camera and display applications while camera (CSI-3), UFS and all Chip-to-Chip applications are supported on top of the M-PHY layer. CSI-3 and UFS are using the UniPro protocol stack layer, depicted in yellow as an intermediate interface between the M-PHY and the higher level protocol layers for camera, display and UFS.

The Physical Layer parameters are typically tested by electrical layer tools such as the oscilloscopes, bit error rate testers and network analyzers. Protocol Layers are typically tested by protocol-capable tools.

Design and Simulation

Count on Keysight to help you through to a complete gigabit design. Our deep expertise in this area is built into our Advanced Design System (ADS) software and its capabilities that model RF and microwave effects quickly and accurately. You can use ADS and the Keysight Physical layer test system (PLTS) software to solve tough modeling problems such as long, lossy interconnects or crosstalk in densely packed interconnects. Furthermore, you can make both vector network analyzer (VNA) and time domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements that can be easily calibrated and controlled by the PLTS software.

ADS provides an integrated workflow that unites system, circuit and Physical-level design and simulation. One important benefit of this tight integration is to help you eliminate time consuming and error-prone transfers between single-function tools. With ADS, you can work where you’re most comfortable: work in the time or frequency domain, or straddle both, to suit each task, component or problem. Straddling the domains is an effective way to debug stubborn problems. For example, mode-conversion analysis in the PLTS software helps you pinpoint crosstalk problems in high-speed inter¬connects, and multi-domain analysis will help you locate Physical layer problems in high speed channels.

To help you pinpoint problems, ADS provides integrated simulation and data displays. You can visualize channel- or circuit-simulation results, with eye-diagram, mask and bit error rate-contour displays.

Available statistical analysis techniques include a unique treatment of transmitter jitter modeling that correlates closely with measured data. Channel Simulator supports not only built-in generic models but also IC models conforming to the IBIS AMI industry standard.

ADS supports your whole development flow, from early data-link engineering through the pre-layout and post-layout stages. You can import post-layout artwork from constraint-based enterprise tools such as Cadence Allegro, Mentor1 Expedition and Zuken CR5000. Using ADS Momentum, you can create an EM model of your critical net and power delivery network (PDN) artwork for use in both the frequency and time domains. For power integrity analysis in the time domain, ADS supports hybrid convolution that accurately accounts for the low frequency PDN impedance changes from the decoupling capacitors.