Cypress EZ-USB HX3 USB 3.0 Hub Controller Certified by USB Implementers Forum

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced a new USB 3.0 hub controller certified by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for the SuperSpeed USB 5 Gbps standard.

The EZ-USB HX3 USB 3.0 hub controller offers a feature set, with interoperability, charging support and configurability, making it suitable for docking stations, monitors, ultrabook devices, digital TVs, set-top boxes, printers and servers.

The versatile HX3 USB 3.0 hub controller offers a ghost charging feature for charging of devices without a host, and it also supports the USB-IF Battery Charging v1.2 specification and charging of Apple devices. HX3 is the first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hub controller to offer an Accessory Charger Adaptor Dock (ACA-Dock) feature, which enables upstream charging for portable devices with a USB On-The-Go (OTG) host. HX3 includes a Shared Link feature that enables up to eight downstream ports, allowing products such as docking stations and desktop monitors to connect with more USB peripherals using a single four port hub. HX3 offers configurability via I2C EEPROM, I2C Slave and GPIO options, allowing designers to configure PHY drive strength, the number or downstream ports, power switch polarity, LED indicators and more. HX3 consumes 735mW with all ports in operation at super speed data rates – 50% less than competing solutions.

“Cypress’s certified HX3 hub enables flexible design in almost any device,” said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president and COO. “There is a ‘plug and play’ expectation for USB technology and the only way to ensure a seamless computing experience is to successfully complete USB-IF certification. Investing in untested products puts companies at risk of developing sub-par technology. However, companies that diligently adhere to the USB-IF certification program can offer their customers an advantage.“

 “HX3 adds a USB 3.0 hub with differentiating features to our industry-leading SuperSpeed portfolio,” said Mark Fu, senior marketing director of the USB 3.0 business unit, Cypress. “HX3 demonstrates Cypress’s ability to develop innovative features, such as enabling up to eight downstream ports with Shared Link, driving long PCB traces with configurable USB PHYs, and charging portable electronics with Ghost Charging — providing our customers with more design flexibility and top performance.“

The HX3 USB 3.0 hub controller is in production. The CYUSB3328 4-port hub with Shared Link and the CYUSB3314 4-port hub with individual port power control are available in 88-pin QFN packages. The CYUSB3304 basic 4-port hub is available in a smaller footprint 68-pin QFN package.

Cypress EZ-USB SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Portfolio began with EZ-USB FX3, a programmable SuperSpeed USB 3.0 peripheral controller. The portfolio now includes the EZ-USB CX3 camera controller, the EZ-USB FX3S RAID-on-Chip controller, the EZ-USB SD3 storage controller, and the EZ-USB HX3 hub controller.

EZ-USB FX3 provides SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connectivity in virtually any system. It is equipped with a configurable General Programmable Interface (GPIF II), which can be programmed in 8-, 16- and 32-bit configurations with data rates as high as 400 MBs/s. GPIF II enables FX3 to interface to nearly any processor, ASIC or FPGA. The on-chip ARM9 CPU core with 512 KB RAM delivers 200 MIPS of computational power and is available for applications that require local data processing.

The EZ-USB CX3 programmable camera controller enables developers to add SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connectivity to any image sensors supporting the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Camera Serial Interface Type 2 (CSI-2) standard. The EZ-USB FX3S storage controller supports dual Secure Digital (SD) or embedded MultiMedia Card (eMMC) interfaces. Based on Cypress’s proprietary West Bridge architecture, FX3S enables simultaneous links among storage media, application processor and SuperSpeed USB 3.0, allowing unrestricted three-way data flow for maximizing data transfer rate. EZ-USB FX3 CSP provides the industry FX3 USB 3.0 peripheral controller in a Wafer-Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP) that measures only 4.7 mm x 5.1 mm, more than a 75% footprint reduction from the FX3 controller’s Ball-Grid-Array package.