Availability of SuperSpeed USB Inter-Chip Spec

MIPI Alliance and the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced the completion of the SuperSpeed USB Inter-Chip (SSIC) specification.

The specification defines a chip-to-chip USB based internal interconnect for mobile devices as well as other platforms. SSIC offers MIPI Alliance’s M-PHY high bandwidth and low power capabilities combined with SuperSpeed USB performance enhancements.

The M-PHYSM interface, a high speed serial interface, targets up to 2.9GBps per lane with scalability up to 5.8GBps per lane and offers a low pin count and power efficiency. SuperSpeed USB offers a 5GBps signaling rate, up to 10 times faster than Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0), enhanced protocol and power management and backward compatibility with the existing USB device and software model.

"MIPI Alliance is focused on enabling enhanced performance within mobile devices," said Joel Huloux, MIPI Alliance chairman of the board. "With SSIC uniting the M-PHY physical layer with the SuperSpeed USB protocol layer, manufacturers and developers can benefit from the new mobile, low-power technology."

"SSIC opens the door for a broad range of USB-enabled functions to migrate into a huge mobile market," said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group chairman. "This chip-to-chip interface may also find its way back into the PC ecosystem for its low-power benefits."

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group developed the SSIC specification and has transitioned the specification’s management to the USB-IF. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is now accepting adopters of the SSIC specification.

"SSIC is designed to leverage existing USB 3.0 software stack investments, while providing extremely low power consumption for next generation devices," said Billy Anders, Microsoft Corp.‘s Windows group manager. "Combined with the Windows 8 and Windows RT mobile broadband class driver, SSIC provides systems with an industry standard and low-power mobile broadband inter-chip solution while meeting the performance demands of today’s 4G LTE devices and mobile networks."

"SSIC represents an important milestone in the convergence of low-power mobile technology and proven PC technology," said Joel Huloux, director, Standardization and Industry Alliances for ST-Ericsson. "ST-Ericsson, as a member of both MIPI Alliance and the USB 3.0 Promoter Group, has actively contributed to make this happen and believes that SSIC will encounter wide market adoption."

"SSIC offers mobile device developers the opportunity to take advantage of USB 3.0’s gigabit speeds with minimal power consumption," said Ed Bard, senior director of product marketing for IP at Synopsys, Inc. "Our participation in the SSIC working group enabled us to make valuable contributions to the development of the specification. To help validate the specification, Synopsys developed the SSIC proof-of-concept demonstration system, which included the Synopsys DesignWare USB 3.0 IP and HAPS FPGA-based prototyping system."

To download the SSIC spec and USB 3.0 adopter agreement