Texas Instruments FPD Link III - DS90UB903Q & DS90UB904Q EVK SERDESUB-21USB/NOPB SERDESUB-21USB/NOPB Data Sheet

 

2 

SNLU101 – April 2012 

 

Introduction: 
 

Texas Instruments’ Automotive Serdes DS90UB903Q/904Q FPD-Link III evaluation kit 
contains one (1) DS90UB903Q Serializer board, one (1) DS90UB904Q Deserializer board, 
and one (1) two (2) meter* high speed USB 2.0 cable.  *Note: the chipset can support up 
to ten (10) meters.

 

 
The DS90UB903Q/904Q chipset supports a variety of automotive display or vision 
applications over a two (2) wire serial stream.  The single differential pair (FPD-Link III) is 
well-suited for direct connections between a Host Controller/Electronic Control Unit 
(ECU)/FPGA and a display module. The bidirectional control channel of the 
DS90UB903Q/904Q provides seamless communication between the ECU/FPGA and the 
display module. Interactive display platforms such as touch screens can be built around 
this chipset.

 

 
This kit will demonstrate the functionality and operation of the DS90UB903Q and 
DS90UB904Q chipset. The chipset enables transmission of a high-speed video data along 
with a low latency bi-directional control bus over a single twisted pair cable. The integrated 
control channel transfers data bi-directionally over the same serial video link. The transport 
delivers 21 bits of parallel data together with a bidirectional control channel that supports 
an I2C bus. Additionally, there are four unidirectional general purpose (GPI and GPO) 
signal lines for sending control data. This interface allows transparent full-duplex 
communication over a single high-speed differential pair, carrying asymmetrical bi-
directional control information without the dependency of video blanking intervals. The 
Serializer and Deserializer chipset is designed to transmit data at PCLK clocks speeds 
ranging from 10 to 43 MHz and I2C bus rates up to 100 kbps at up to 10 meters cable 
length over -40 to +105 Deg C. 
 
The Serializer board accepts 1.8V/3.3V parallel input signals. FPD-Link III Serializer 
converts the 1.8V/3.3V LVCMOS parallel lines into a single serialized data pair with an 
embedded clock.  The serial data line rate switches at 28 times the base clock frequency.  
With an input clock at 43 MHz, the transmission line rate for the FPD-Link III is 1.20Gbps 
(28 x 43MHz). 
 
The user needs to provide the proper 1.8V/3.3V LVCMOS inputs and 1.8V/3.3V LVCMOS 
clock to the Serializer and also provide a proper interface from the Deserializer output to 
test equipment.  The Serializer and Deserializer boards can also be used to evaluate 
device parameters. A cable conversion board or harness scramble may be necessary 
depending on type of cable/connector interface used on the input to the DS90UB903Q and 
to the output of the DS90UB904Q.