Reduce Cost and Weight of Cabling in Automotive Infotainment Applications with Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) Chipsets

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Engineers can now design high-resolution automotive infotainment applications with either traditional STP or lighter, less expensive coax cables using a new family of Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link (GMSL) SerDes chipsets from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: MXIM).

Current vehicle designs use STP cables to drive data to automotive infotainment displays. However, OEMs are beginning to turn to coax cabling instead, as it lowers cable cost and weight by up to 50%. With Maxim's SerDes chipsets, OEMs can continue using STP cables in their designs, and seamlessly transition to coax cabling in future models using the same chipset. The chipsets drive 15 meters of coax or STP cabling, providing the margin required for robust and versatile designs. The spread-spectrum capability built into each serializer and deserializer improves EMI performance in the link, without the need for an external spread-spectrum clock. Each serializer can operate with any deserializer in the family, allowing the use of different interfaces at each end of the link. In addition to driving high-resolution central and rear-seat displays, these chipsets can also be used in megapixel camera systems.

Key Advantages

• Reduced cable cost and weight: each SerDes chipset allows the use of coax cables, which reduce cable cost and weight each by up to 50%.
• High-resolution displays: drive 1920x720 pixel displays with 24-bit color, enhancing visuals in both safety and entertainment applications.
• Longer cable lengths: the robust chipsets drive 15 meters of cable, up to 50% longer than competitive solutions.
• Minimized EMI: the serializer has spread-spectrum capability, reducing EMI without additional components.

Commentary

• "Maxim has thought through the system-level concerns of automotive OEMs," said Balagopal Mayampurath, Automotive Business Director at Maxim Integrated. "This product family gives automotive manufacturers tremendous flexibility in their designs."
• "Consumers are increasingly considering connectivity and infotainment capability in their automobile buying decisions," said Nina Turner, Research Manager at IDC. "Automotive manufacturers will need to cost-effectively deliver high-resolution video to infotainment displays."

Availability and Pricing

• Each device operates over the -40-degree C to +105-degree C automotive temperature range.
• Pricing and evaluation (EV) kits are available to qualified customers on request.
• As with the previous generation of GMSL SerDes, HDCP compatible versions are available.  
• For more details, visit our SerDes chipset information page.
  

A hi-res image of the end application of the SerDes chipsets is also available.

About Maxim Integrated

At Maxim Integrated, our designs make the world more integrated. And with analog integration, the possibilities are endless. In Fiscal 2013, we reported revenues of $2.4 billion.

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Contact: Timery Crawford
(408) 601-5435
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SOURCE Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.