Himax HX83196/HX83197 eDP TDDI chip enhances automotive display technology

Himax Technologies has introduced the HX83196/HX83197 series, an automotive TDDI (Touch and Display Driver Integration) chip with high-speed eDP interface support. The chip combines an eDP (embedded DisplayPort) interface, touch sensing, and display driver functionality into a single component, aimed at meeting the needs of next-generation smart car displays that are getting larger, higher-resolution, and more visually demanding, while also needing responsive touch performance.

Himax's new eDP TDDI uses what it calls eSRE (eDP Stream Regeneration Engine) technology, integrating TDDI functionality with the ability to both receive and transmit eDP signals on a single chip. It can directly handle high-bandwidth eDP signals and can be configured in a cascaded setup, where multiple chips work together. This gives customers flexibility to use either a single-chip design or a two-chip cascaded design, depending on the specific panel size and resolution they need. The HX83197 variant also incorporates Himax's local dimming technology directly into the TDDI, eliminating the need for a separate timing controller (Tcon) chip while improving contrast and detail in both bright and dark parts of an image, with better cost efficiency as a result. The new eDP TDDI is currently in the design-in stage with multiple panel manufacturers and will be showcased at the upcoming SID Vehicle Displays and Interfaces Symposium in Detroit.

The new chip offers several key capabilities. On flexible cascading for large, high-resolution displays, the automotive display system needs only a single eDP output interface to link two eDP TDDI chips together; a single chip supports displays up to 17 inches at 3K resolution, while a two-chip cascaded setup supports displays up to 30 inches at 6K resolution.

On touch and display performance, the chip features 2,560 source channels and 1,280 touch channels, supporting both 60Hz and 90Hz refresh rates, enabling large, high-resolution touch displays with smooth visual performance.

On system integration, incorporating an eDP 1.2 interface eliminates the need for the separate eDP-to-OLDI bridge chip that conventional automotive display designs typically require. For single-display setups, the chip also supports what Himax calls a Direct DP architecture, letting the vehicle's system-on-chip transmit eDP signals directly to the eDP TDDI over a single cable without needing an additional SerDes chip (which handles converting data between serial and parallel formats), further simplifying the overall system and reducing cost.

On data transmission and image quality, the chip integrates eDP 1.4's Display Stream Compression (DSC) technology, which reduces the data rate and power consumption involved in transmitting high-resolution images while also helping reduce electromagnetic interference. Support for HDR10+ improves contrast and detail across both bright and dark areas of an image, contributing to more natural, refined picture quality.

The chip also supports what Himax calls an ALS-on-panel architecture, providing an interface for an ambient light sensor (ALS) that can be mounted directly on the display panel rather than taking up space on the surrounding bezel, allowing for a cleaner, more streamlined display design.

Ming-Cheng Chiu, executive vice president of the Touch and Display Business Unit at Himax, said the company has been deeply involved in the automotive display IC market for nearly two decades, building a leading position across multiple technologies and one of the industry's most comprehensive automotive display IC portfolios. He said that as the market trends toward larger, higher-resolution displays and increasingly varied display configurations inside smart car interiors, Himax continues developing and introducing new technology to give customers more options tailored to their specific needs. He described the new eDP TDDI as one such example, supporting large-format, high-resolution automotive displays with advanced touch functionality while simplifying display design and reducing cost, adding that multiple customer projects using the technology are already underway.