Targeting navigation, entertainment and other automotive applications that require rapid 2-D rendering, Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc. has introduced the MB86276 graphics display controller.
The chip fits between high-end graphic display controllers like Fujitsu’s Coral 3-D device and lower-end products better suited to industrial than to automotive environments, according to Dan Landeck, product manager for graphic display controller series. It is intended for use in midrange vehicles for the North American automotive market
Landeck described the MB86276 as a streamlined version of the Coral, which is popular in high-end vehicles in Japan and Europe. Lacking only the Coral’s geometry processor, the new part includes the display controller, rendering engine and video-input unit developed for the Coral, as well as multiple alpha-blending options, anti-aliasing and chroma-keying capabilities, and an up/down video scaler. It provides all of the Coral’s 2-D capabilities, including texture mapping, Gouraud shading, flat shading and dual-display output. A 16-bit Z buffer enables low-level 3-D operations.
In dual-display mode, the MB86276 can drive two connected displays individually, with identical resolution. The controller can be connected with the displays through two independent interfaces, or a single interface with some multiplexing logic. It can support various dual-display applications including rear-seat entertainment or dual monitor-control units. In dual-display mode each layer can be programmed to appear in either one or both of the display units, for duplicate image content or delivery of individually composed pictures on each display.
An optimized central processor allows the MB86276 to be linked to a wide range of processors and controllers from various manufacturers. Operating system drivers developed for the Coral family can be used with the new controller with minimal modification.
The MB86276 has a 133 MHz internal and memory frequency. Its base clock for display operates at 400.9 MHz. Display resolutions range from 320 x 240 to 1280 x 768. Six layers of overlay windows with a color depth of 8, 16 or 24 bits/pixel can be used simultaneously and can be changed in size, position and priority. The maximum logical layer size is 4096 x 4096 pixels. Specific layers can be blended using the alpha map, which can be assigned to any of the six layers and allows the assignment of eight bits per pixel. Each pixel can be mixed to control transparency levels. Internal and external DMA is supported, along with an external 32-bit SDRAM interface for up to 64MB of graphics memory. An I2C interface is included, as are GPIO inputs and outputs.
The MB86276 is manufactured using Fujitsu’s 0.18-micron CMOS technology and is housed in 256-pin ball grid array packages. It is available in volume, priced from $12 in 100,000-piece quantities.