NEC Electronics today announced the availability of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 system-on-a-chip (SOC) design solution that customers can use to kick start the development of custom USB 3.0 products. Leveraging NEC Electronics’ design, implementation and manufacturing strengths as a leading integrated device manufacturer (IDM), the SOC design solution helps to reduce risk, improve efficiency and speed time to market, while allowing customers to focus on developing their own differentiated logic.
The SOC design solution features NEC Electronics’ USB 3.0 intellectual property (IP) core, which is fully interoperable with the company’s recently USB-IF-certified USB 3.0 host controller (part number µPD720200) and also backward compatible with previous versions of the USB standard. NEC Electronics expects rapid adoption of the solution by customers developing mass storage, display and video applications, especially as the need to transfer larger and larger amounts of information from PCs to external hard-drives, portable electronics devices, and flash-based drives continues to grow.
LucidPort Technology, a fabless semiconductor company developing SuperSpeed USB and Wireless USB controllers, leveraged NEC Electronics USB 3.0 SOC design solution in the development of its USB300, a single chip USB 3.0 to SATA-II bridge designed for external storage devices.
"Working with NEC Electronics' USB 3.0 SOC design solution with the industry's first USB 3.0 core, we were able to bring our bridge chip to market quickly," said Reid Augustin, vice president, product development for LucidPort. "NEC Electronics provided engineering support for each stage of design and manufacturing, and ensured the interoperability of the basic building blocks, freeing up our designers to focus on developing our specific application logic."
“NEC Electronics has earned a reputation for delivering dedicated customer service and high-quality, reliable custom products. In fact, these qualities are cornerstones of the NEC Electronics culture,” said Osamu Matsushima, general manager, ASIC Solutions Division, NEC Electronics Corporation. “Combining our USB leadership with our years of experience delivering custom SOC and standard solutions, the new SOC design solution provides customers with a one-stop-shop for implementing their system solutions on time and within budget.”
Availability
The USB 3.0 SOC design solution and USB 3.0 IP cores are available now on NEC Electronics’ 90-nanometer process. More information about NEC Electronics' USB technologies can be found at http://www.necel.com/usb/en/index.html. (Pricing and availability are subject to change.)
