NEC Electronics - USB 3.0 SOC Design Solution to Speed Customer Time to Market

The SOC design solution features NEC Electronics’ USB 3.0 intellectual property (IP) core, which is fully interoperable with the company’s recently USB-IF-certified USB 3.0 host controller (part number µPD720200) and also backward compatible with previous versions of the USB standard. NEC Electronics expects rapid adoption of the solution by customers developing mass storage, display and video applications, especially as the need to transfer larger and larger amounts of information from PCs to external hard-drives, portable electronics devices, and flash-based drives continues to grow.

LucidPort Technology, a fabless semiconductor company developing SuperSpeed USB and Wireless USB controllers, leveraged NEC Electronics USB 3.0 SOC design solution in the development of its USB300, a single chip USB 3.0 to SATA-II bridge designed for external storage devices.

Working with NEC Electronics' USB 3.0 SOC design solution with the industry's first USB 3.0 core, we were able to bring our bridge chip to market quickly, said Reid Augustin, vice president, product development for LucidPort. NEC Electronics provided engineering support for each stage of design and manufacturing, and ensured the interoperability of the basic building blocks, freeing up our designers to focus on developing our specific application logic.

“NEC Electronics has earned a reputation for delivering dedicated customer service and high-quality, reliable custom products. In fact, these qualities are cornerstones of the NEC Electronics culture,” said Osamu Matsushima, general manager, ASIC Solutions Division, NEC Electronics Corporation. “Combining our USB leadership with our years of experience delivering custom SOC and standard solutions, the new SOC design solution provides customers with a one-stop-shop for implementing their system solutions on time and within budget.”

Leadership in USB with USB-IF Certification of World’s First USB 3.0 Host Controller
As a member of the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) since 1996, NEC Electronics has played a leading role both in defining the USB standards and in developing USB technology. In 2009, the company introduced the industry’s first USB 3.0 host controller (part number µPD720200), which requires only 70 seconds to transfer 25 gigabytes (GB) of video content, compared to 14 minutes to transfer the same content when using the High-Speed USB (USB 2.0) with 480 Mbps transfer capability. The host controller is the industry’s first certified USB 3.0 commercially available product and represents the first step to broad adoption among host and peripheral device manufacturers. Tested for compliance to the USB 3.0 specification, the host controller certification offers manufacturers and consumers the assurance that it will function in accordance with the specification, and will interoperate with the billions of USB-enabled devices that exist in the market today. NEC Electronics’ USB-IF certified µPD720200 host controller uses a PCI Express® Gen 2. system interface bus, allowing designers to easily add up to two USB 3.0 interfaces to systems containing the PCI Express bus interface.

In 2000, NEC Electronics introduced the world's first USB 2.0-compliant host controller chip and has shipped more than 161 million USB devices as of March 2009. NEC Electronics expects the market for USB 3.0 products to begin a rapid expansion in 2010.