National Semiconductor Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) introduced a new chipset that is comprised of two integrated circuits, the FPD94128 controller/column driver and the FPD93140 power supply/gate driver, which form a complete solution for driving amorphous silicon active matrix LCD panels used in mobile phones that support full color graphics, video and still images. The chipset will enable lighter and thinner cell phones that have longer battery life and versatile video features such as an adjustable display quality switch to save energy.
The FPD94128/FPD93140 chipset features an image-dependant backlight controller for the reduction of backlight intensity, which translates to longer phone usage time between charges. A typical backlight power of 150mW swamps the power used by the display. The FPD94128 features a programmable color depth that allows selection of 3-bit, 9-bit, 12-bit or 18-bit color modes, and allows users to trade-off power consumption for display quality, reducing chip power consumption by 40% in the 4K color mode. The FPD94128 integrates a 528-channel column driver capable of driving 64 gray levels, an internal frame buffer (176 x 240 x 18-bit), a display refresh controller, a programmable gamma reference and a backlight intensity modulator.
Designed to work seamlessly with the FPD94128, the FPD93140 integrates a 241-channel row driver; high-efficiency, charge pump, power supplies; and a VCOM driver. The power supply is designed to operate directly from the system's lithium-ion battery, which can eliminate significant efficiency losses normally encountered with other display solutions. The chips are programmable to support any physical display matrix up to 176 x 240, including the popular 176 x 220 and 176 x 208 sizes.
Available for sampling late next month, the FPD94128/FPD93140 chipset is priced at $9.99 each in 1,000-unit quantities. Both devices are offered as gold-bumped die for COG and COF applications.
