ROHM / OKI Semiconductor Co-Develop a Dedicated Chipset for Intel® Atom™ Processor E6xx Series

The chipset combines a power management IC, clock generator IC, and input/output hub IC. This platformdedicated packaged offer from the ROHM Group enhances ease of design and reduces complexity, assuring timetomarket for customers with embedded applications.

ROHM Co., Ltd., in collaboration with its affiliated company, OKI Semiconductor Co., Ltd., announced the launch of a dedicated Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuit family designed to support the Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series (formerly code-named Tunnel Creek). This chipset consists of a power management IC (PMIC), a clock generator IC (CGIC), and an input/output hub (IOH) IC. A reference board that simplifies customer development is also available.

Mr. Toshiki Takano, a director of ROHM Co., Ltd. and head of LSI development head-quarters says, “This complete chipset marks the first major achievement combining ROHM’s analog/linear technologies with OKI Semiconductor’s low-power logic expertise. We plan on continuing to fill our lineup of chipset solutions for the Intel® Atom™ processors while strengthening our support for a wide variety of applications, from consumer devices such as digital AV to industrial equipment.”

“The Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series are fully integrated System-on-a-Chip (SoC) products designed specifically for embedded applications and are unprecedented in that they utilize the open standard PCI Express as the processor-to-chipset interface. This unique feature provides our customers with the I/O flexibility needed for a broad range of embedded applications, including solutions such as in-vehicle infotainment systems and media phones,” says Mr. Ton Steenman, vice president of the Intel Architecture Group and general manager of the Low Power Embedded Products Division for Intel Corporation.
“By providing dedicated PMIC and clock generator chips as well as application-specific input/output hubs (through OKI Semiconductor) to support Intel® Atom™ E6xx designs, ROHM Group products will help reduce design complexity and cost for embedded customers.”

ROHM’s PMIC supplies all of the voltage rails required not only for the Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series and the Intel® Platform Controller Hub EG20T, but also for the DDR2 memory and BIOS-storage SPI Flash connected to the Intel® chip. Furthermore, it controls start-up and power-down sequencing that eliminates the need for an external microcontroller or a CPLD required in most conventional x86 processor designs.

ROHM’s CGIC is ideal for Intel® Atom™ processor E6xx series-based designs since it alone provides all of the clocks needed by the Intel® chip and the controller hub, as well as by commonly employed external devices such as SATA, USB, etc.

OKI Semiconductor has developed two kinds of application-specific input/output hubs, the ML7223(V) and ML7213. The former is intended for telecom terminal applications such as web-enabled media phones. It integrates a rich collection of industry-standard I/O’s such as USBs, SATA, SD-Host, UART as well as application-specific functions including an IPsec hardware accelerator and echo and noise cancellers for hands-free operation. The latter, ML7213, was developed primarily for in-vehicle infotainment applications. The built-in MediaLB®, SDVO converter and video input interface, along with the above-mentioned industry-standard I/O’s, reduce valuable board space while contributing to reduced bill of materials.

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