Cypress – FX3 peripheral controller selected for USB 3.0 5M sensor evaluation board (EZ-USB FX3)

Himax Imaging has selected Cypress’s EZ-USB FX3 peripheral controller for its USB 3.0 5M sensor Evaluation Board. This evaluation board can be used with a variety of imaging sensors, including the popular HM5065(5M), HM3451(3.4M), HM2056/2057(2M), HM1375 (1.3M) and HM1055(HD) models, which are widely used in application such as PC cameras, document scanners and industrial cameras.

The FX3 is the industry’s first and only programmable USB 3.0 peripheral controller. It is equipped with a flexible General Programmable Interface (GPIF II) that can be connected with virtually any system in 8-, 16- and 32-bit configurations, and is capable of data rates up to 400 Megabytes per second. GPIF II enables the FX3 controller to interface directly to a variety of application processors, ASICs or FPGAs. This flexibility is critical in enabling Himax Imaging’s sensor evaluation board to interface with a wide range of image sensors.

“The launch of Himax Imaging’s industry-leading full HD sensor evaluation board ignites the engine of HD camera applications in the USB 3.0 era,” said Mark Fu, senior marketing director in the Data Communication Division at Cypress. “Just like its predecessor, FX2, Cypress’s FX3 is becoming the de facto standard in the USB SuperSpeed solution market by providing best-in-class performance and flexibility.”

Antonio Tsai, deputy director of the marketing division at Himax Imaging, said: “Sensor performance is the focus of camera design, and our evaluation board becomes the springboard to success for our customers. “We were able to overcome design challenges very quickly with the help of Cypress’s FX3 total solution. Its high flexibility, stability and ease of use are key contributors to the successful and timely launch of our HD sensor evaluation board.”

The EZ-USB FX3 provides SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connectivity in virtually any system. The on-chip ARM9 CPU core with 512KB RAM delivers 200 MIPS of computational power and is available for applications that require local data processing. Additionally, FX3 provides interfaces to connect to serial peripherals such as SPI, UART, I2C and I2S. In short, FX3 provides highly flexible and integrated features that enable developers to add USB 3.0 connectivity to any system, says the company.