Cypress Introduces $49 SuperSpeed Explorer Kit to Accelerate USB 3.0 Designs
Kit Leverages Cypress's Programmable EZ-USB(R) FX3(TM) Solution; Demonstrations and Kit Giveaways Upcoming at IDF 2014
SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/08/14 -- Intel Developer Forum (IDF) -- Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) today introduced a low-cost, easy-to-use development platform that enables designers to add high-performance USB 3.0 throughput to virtually any system. The new SuperSpeed Explorer Kit, now available for $49 online, is based on Cypress's programmable EZ-USB® FX3™ USB 3.0 peripheral controller, which offers the flexibility to address a broad range of applications. Cypress will demonstrate the kit in booth number 780 at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco from September 9-11, and 100 attendees will receive free kits.
EZ-USB FX3 is the industry's only programmable USB 3.0 peripheral controller. It is equipped with a highly configurable General Programmable Interface (GPIF™ II), which can be programmed in 8-, 16-, and 32-bit configurations. GPIF II allows FX3 to communicate directly with application processors, FPGAs, storage media, and image sensors and provides a data transfer rate of up to 400 Megabytes per second, while using lower power than alternative solutions. The SuperSpeed Explorer Kit easily interfaces with external devices via three accessory boards that connect to Aptina image sensors, Altera FPGAs and Xilinx FPGAs, respectively. The kit also includes an integrated debugger with a standard USB interface to further simplify designs and speed time to market.
Cypress will also be giving away advance copies of the book "SuperSpeed Device Design by Example" by USB expert John Hyde at IDF. The book provides a practical approach to designing and implementing SuperSpeed USB peripherals and includes a series of examples using the SuperSpeed Explorer Kit. Hyde will be signing copies of the book in the Cypress booth and will present on SuperSpeed design on September 10 at 12:30 p.m. at the IDF Networking Plaza Theater.
"With the unique programmability of Cypress's FX3 solution, our new $49 SuperSpeed Explorer kit makes it easier and more cost-efficient than ever before for designers to add USB 3.0 to their next-generation products," said Mark Fu, senior marketing director of the USB 3.0 Business Unit at Cypress. "We look forward to showcasing the kit at IDF, along with our leading USB 3.0 portfolio."
"I have been working with many of Cypress's FX3 customers and wrote my book to address their most common concern of 'getting started,'" said Hyde, who's also a principal at USB Design By Example. "The book covers the end-to-end development process including Windows examples, FX3 firmware examples, GPIF II examples, and even Verilog examples for a CPLD plug-on board that enables you to try a variety of high-performance interfaces to your own hardware. I wanted to make SuperSpeed USB technology more accessible and believe that the book, along with the new Cypress kit, is a good first step in that direction."
In addition to FX3, Cypress will feature other solutions from its USB 3.0 portfolio at IDF, including:
- The USB-IF Certified, 4-port EZ-USB HX3 USB 3.0 hub controller, which offers robust interoperability, support for Battery Charging v1.2 and Apple charging standards, and full configurability. HX3 targets docking stations, monitors, Ultrabook™ devices, digital TVs, set-top boxes, printers and servers.
- The EZ-USB CX3™ camera controller, which enables developers to add USB 3.0 to image sensors supporting the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Camera Serial Interface Type 2 (CSI-2) standard. CX3 provides four CSI-2 data lanes with speed up to 1 Gbps per lane, and it supports uncompressed video streams.
- The EZ-USB FX3S™ RAID-on-Chip controller, which integrates storage host controllers that enable developers to add support for SD/eMMC memories and SDIO devices to their system.
