The i.MX31 multimedia processor delivers nearly 1 million-polygon/s 3D graphics for low-power portable media appliances. Developed by Freescale Semiconductor, it's based on an ARM1136JF-S processor core with 16-kbyte data and instruction caches and a 128-kbyte unified L2 cache. Its dedicated engines target vector math, 3D graphics, MPEG-4 encode, image processing, and Java execution.
Freescale's Smart Speed power-management technology keeps the total power consumption to less than 50 mW when running at internal clock rates of up to 532 MHz and just a milliwatt or two on standby. Also, its multiple low-power modes provide lots of flexibility. A six- by five-port crossbar switch accelerates data movement between blocks, nearly eliminating processor wait states and permitting a high degree of parallelism.
The embedded 3D graphics engine and image-processing unit deliver up to 32 bits/pixel and VGA resolution at up to 30 frames/s for good motion quality. Based on the ARM MBX R-S graphics accelerator, the graphics processor provides full-scene anti-aliasing and Open-GL ES and Java Mobile 3-D support. The engine offers an impressive 1 Mtriangle/s (double textured, bi-linear, Gouraud shaded) at an effective data rate of about 100 Mpixels/s.
The chip's MPEG-4 hardware encoder can encode MPEG-4 SP and H.263 baseline formats. It supports resolutions up to VGA at 30 frames/s. A mix of hardware and software supports additional multimedia decoding for popular codecs (H.264, MPEG-4, and many others), minimizing the loading on the ARM processor. Image-processing support lets users preview images captured by CMOS or CCD sensors.
A random-number generator accelerator and electronic fuses enable vendors to hardwire device IDs, security codes, and other data into a secure region on the chip. A run-time integrity checker (including a SHA-1 algorithm accelerator), tamper detection, a secure JTAG controller, and other features protect the system from malicious service attacks and help block illegal access to licensed content.
The i.MX31 includes multiple I/O support options. A high-speed (480-Mbit/s) USB On-The-Go port provides system-to-system connectivity without a PC. A USB 2.0 host port interfaces with peripherals such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless links.
Expansion interfaces include support for SDRAM, mobile DDR, NAND flash, and PSRAM as well as two MMC/SD card ports, a PCMCIA/CF interface, two memory-stick Pro ports, and support for SIM cards and an ATA hard-disk drive. Communication ports include multiple UARTs, dual SPI ports, two SSI/I2S ports, an IrDA port, and an audio multiplexer.
The i.MX31 is housed in a 457-ball, 0.5-mm pitch BGA package. It costs about $20 in lots of 10,000. The i.MX31L, which costs slightly less, eliminates the graphics coprocessor for systems that have their own graphics engine. Samples are immediately available.
Freescale Semiconductor Inc.www.freescale.com
