Introspect Technology, leading manufacturer of test and measurement tools for high-speed digital applications, today announced it released the industry’s first dual-mode MIPI® AllianceD-PHY℠/C-PHY℠ display driver integrated circuit (IC) and display panel tester. Introspect’s SV4E-DPTXCPTX MIPI Transmit Device Emulator is a highly integrated system-level tester that facilitates the rapid screening, calibration, and optimization of MIPI enabled devices. Optimized for display driver and module test applications, the SV4E-DPTXCPTX’s unique dual-mode physical layer enables multi-protocol design verification and high-volume manufacturing test.
Increasing Complexities for Testing Display-Intensive Products
The various technological advances aimed at producing feature-rich, power-efficient, and higher quality displays have made it increasingly difficult to design and test display-intensive products. The increased complexity of display devices means that design and test engineers must consider many operating scenarios when creating test setups. In addition, with all the various and complex functions display systems perform today, it is imperative that testing methodologies inspect display devices for deficiencies that occur in real-world situations.
Despite the emerging complexities in testing, the SV4E-DPTXCPTX’s unique dual-mode D-PHY/C-PHY analog front-end not only allows engineers to perform multi-protocol validation, but its excellent signal integrity and robust reliability also allow design and test engineers to easily create a realistic test setup where the device is run as close as possible to the end-user experience. The tester can function as a highly adaptable applications processor, providing complete on-the-fly control for debugging power-on sequences, reset sequences, and tuning algorithms for advanced AMOLED, OLED, or LCD panels. This makes it a critical time-to-market tool for display driver IC makers who can start to develop their ICs without depending on the existence of off-the-shelf vendor processors.
To display driver IC makers, the SV4E-DPTXCPTX provides a complete, standalone tool for tuning and optimizing displays, offering firmware and software engineers the ability to generate video at any resolution and at any refresh rate or variable refresh rate (VRR). It also allows firmware engineers to program all their device registers through the MIPI DSI-2℠ read/write interface and to exercise all aspects of their design that include: high resolution video generation, command-mode, and video-mode display driver timing control, color correction algorithms, brightness (or ultra-high brightness) algorithms, ultra-high refresh rate solutions, and power optimization algorithms.
Once display driver ICs are integrated into module assemblies, the SV4E-DPTXCPTX represents a complete system-level stimulus solution that can be integrated into entire module test stations used for rapid screening, reliability testing, and optimization of display panels during production. It has fully automated software that can be deployed to assist in color correction, calibration, or other steps that are included in a typical panel manufacturing flow.