The first USB Type-C Hub controller to deliver USB power to laptop docking stations, monitors, and accessories

     Cypress Semiconductor, a leading USB innovator, today announced the availability of the industry's first prototype USB Type-C Hub controller with USB power transfer capabilities. The USB Type-C standard and PD specification developed by the USB Developers Forum (USB-IF) enable slim industrial designs. With easy-to-use connectors and cables, the ability to transmit multiple protocols, and power output up to 100W (a significant increase from the previous 7.5W standard), it is supported by a growing number of top PC manufacturers. Cypress's new EZ-USB™ HX3C Hub controller provides the integrated USB Type-C Hub solution necessary for these manufacturers to launch the next generation of notebook docking stations, monitors and accessories.

     Cypress's new HX3C solution integrates a USB3.1 Gen 1 Hub controller, a USB Billboard controller and two USB Type-C port controllers in a 10mmX10mm BGA compact space. The Hub controller can be used as a composite Hub connection device, providing three exposed downlink ports and one fixed port. Two USB Type-C port controllers are connected to the Hub uplink port and one downlink port, supporting dual role data port (DRP) on the uplink port and downlink data port (DFP) on the downlink port. A fixed port is permanently connected to the embedded USB Billboard controller and can be enabled or disabled through configuration Settings. In addition to USB power transmission, all downlink ports of the HX3C support the USB BC 1.2 charging standard and the Apple charging standard, providing a complete USB charging solution for portable electronic devices. To learn more about the HX3C solution, visit our website at www.cypress.com/hx3c and you can also watch demo videos at www.cypress.com/hx3cdemo. From May 31 to June 4, Cypress will demonstrate its complete USB Type-C and power transmission solutions during Computex Taipei at Booth USB-IF (booth No. M0309a), Hall 4F, Nangang Exhibition Center.

     Mark Fu, Senior Director of Marketing, Cypress USB Business Unit, said: "For any application requiring multiple USB Type-C ports that support both power transfer and battery charging standards, the HX3C, which integrates all four chips into one, is the most attractive USB Hub solution. Compared to discrete component solutions, HX3C can help customers save 30% PCB(circuit board) space and 10% material costs. "The HX3C greatly reduces the system design complexity of USB Type-C docking stations, monitors and accessories, and helps PC manufacturers quickly expand their USB Type-C and power transmission portfolios."

     USB Type-C replaces multiple connectors with a single connector, capable of transferring data, power, and video to PCS, tablets, and smartphones, and replaces multiple connectors with a single connector. The USB Type-C plug height is only 2.4mm, which is significantly smaller than the existing 4.5mm USB Type-A plug. In addition, with Alternate Mode of the USB Type-C standard, it can transmit USB, DisplayPort, MHL, or Thunderbolt signals over the same connector. According to IHS and Cypress, shipments of USB Type-C devices will rapidly grow from 50 million units in 2015 to more than 2 billion units by 2019.

     Jeff Ravencraft, president and Chief Operating Officer of USB-IF, said: "USB Type-C is thin, compact, reversible and offers scalable power transfer and Alternate Modes, providing end users with an easy-to-use, single-cable solution for data, video and power transfer. We welcome Cypress's continued expansion of its USB Type-C and power transmission portfolio, contributing to the rapid growth of the USB ecosystem."

     The two USB Type-C port controllers for the EZ-USB HX3C solution both include a baseband transceiver and physical layer logic. These transceivers offer BMC and 4b/5b encoding and decoding capabilities and a 1.2-V front end. The solution also incorporates the required termination resistance to identify the HX3C's USB Type-C port role; Use Rd to identify uplink ports (UFP) of docking stations or monitors; When configured as a downlink port (DFP), the integrated current source acts as an Rp resistor. This current source is programmed to fully indicate the VBUS current capacity range as defined by the USB Power transfer specification.

     The HX3C contains two ARM® Cortex®-M0 cpus, each optimized for low-power operation with extensive clock gating. It uses 16-bit instructions and executes a subset of the Thumb-2 instruction set, guaranteeing an upward migration of fully compatible binary code to higher performance processors. The CPU includes a nested Vector Interrupt controller (NVIC) module with 32 interrupt inputs and a Wake up Interrupt Controller (WIC). The Wake up Interrupt controller can wake the CPU from deep sleep mode and disconnect the main processor power when the HX3C is in deep sleep mode. The HX3C's 64KB flash memory is used to store programs and supports firmware upgrades for the USB Type-C port controller and USB Billboard controller. Its integrated flash accelerator has an access time of 1 wait state (WS) at 48MHz and 0 wait state (WS) at 24MHz.