NS9750 - Training Hardware

NS9750 LCD Block

Overview The LCD Controller provides an interface to a STN or TFT LCD Panel. Display data is DMAed from external memory to the LCD controller. To LCD Panel LCD Controller AHB BUS (To Memory)

LCD Controller Supports both monochrome and color, single- and dual-panel Super Twisted Nematic (STN) LCD panels Supports 18 and 24-bit Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCD color displays STN mode supports up to 15 gray-levels for monochrome and 3375 colors TFT mode supports up to 16M colors Supports all popular display resolutions up to 1024x768 maximum 256 entry, 16-bit palette RAM Monochrome STN supports 1,2, or 4 bits-per-pixel via palette RAM

LCD Controller Color STN supports 1,2,4, or 8 bits-per-pixel via palette RAM TFT supports 1,2,4,or 8 bits per-pixel via palette RAM; 16 and 24 bits per pixel direct LCD timing programmable AHB DMA engine transfers display data from external memory to dual 64x32 FIFOs Supports big and little endian pixel format, as well as WinCE LCD panel clock can either be generated internally from the AHB clock or provided via an external oscillator

LCD Controller Programmable Parameters Horizontal front porch Horizontal back porch Horizontal sync pulse width Number of pixels per line Vertical front porch Vertical back porch Vertical sync pulse width Number of lines per panel Number of panel clocks per line Signal polarity AC panel bias Panel clock frequency Number of bits-per-pixel Display type (STN mono/color or TFT) STN 4 or 8 bit interface STN dual or single panel Pixel format (little-endian, big-endian or WinCE) Interrupt generation event

LCD Panel Interface Signal Description CLPOWER LCD panel power enable CLLP Line sync pulse (STN) or horizontal sync pulse (TFT) CLCP LCD panel clock CLFP Frame pulse (STN) or vertical sync pulse (TFT) CLAC AC bias drive (STN) or data enable (TFT) CLD[23:0] LCD panel data CLLE Line end signal

LCD Setup Procedure Setup horizontal timing parameters for LCD panel (e.g. front porch, back porch, sync width, number of pixels per line) Setup vertical timing parameters for LCD panel (e.g. front porch, back porch, sync width, number of lines per panel) Setup other display parameters (e.g. signal polarity, panel clock frequency, number of clocks per line) Enable conditions that cause interrupt from LCD controller (e.g. vertical compare) Setup base address in external memory of area to DMA display data from.

LCD Setup Procedure Select clock source (AHB clock, AHB clock divided down, or external oscillator) Load initial display data into external memory Enable control signals to LCD panel by setting LcdEn bit. System applies contrast voltage VEE Apply power to LCD panel by setting LcdPwr bit. This drives CLPOWER active and enables CLD [23:0] to activate display. (see NS9750 Hardware Reference Manual for detailed description of power up and power down sequence) Interrupts will occur during normal operation (e.g. during vertical sync). The application can use these to update the base address used for DMA (e.g. double buffered video display).

LCD Panel Clock Generation Source of LCD panel clock is programmable via Clock Configuration Register in SCM AHB clock divided by 1,2,4,8 External clock oscillator (LCDCLK) divided by 2 LCD controller provides an additional clock divider that can be used to divide the source clock further to generate the LCD panel clock (see NS9750 Hardware Reference Manual for programming limitations on clock divider value)

STN Displays’ Timing Diagrams Vertical Timing Horizontal Timing

TFT Displays’ Timing Diagrams Vertical Timing Horizontal Timing

Hints & Kinks Can I directly directly connect the NS9750’s LCD interface signals to an LCD display panel? Although there is nothing functionally wrong with this approach, the NS9750’s LCD outputs, with the exception of CLCP(8ma), are rated at only 4ma. Direct connection would only be practical over a few inches of trace. These drive strengths are definitely not applicable to driving a LCD panel via a cable. A single, low-skew, high drive buffer is recommended for applications requiring more drive than the NS9750 can provide. A single device with low-skew is required because the skew between the clock and all of the other signals is the key in meeting the timing requirements of the LCD panel.

Hints & Kinks My 24-bit TFT LCD display panel requires differential inputs. How do I interface the NS9750 to it? Most 24-bit TFT panels require LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) inputs. These typically require an off-the-shelf LVDS serializer device to interface the display controller to the display. The NS9750’s LCD interface can interface directly to the parallel interface of this serializer. Contact the manufacturer of the LCD display for a recommendation on which serializer device to use (e.g. National DS90C385)