Busses get slimmer

In response to the increased demand for multimedia functions within mobile terminals and other portable entertainment devices, the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance has released the specification for a Serial Low-power Inter-chip Media Bus or SLIMbus.

SLIMbus is claimed to deliver significantly more audio capacity than existing I²S and other PCM digital audio busses. It also sports an independent messaging channel that offers faster communication capability than those busses too.

Offering up to 28Mb/sec of scalable bandwidth, SLIMbus will enable designers to mix multiple audio sample rates and control streams to meet varying system needs.

For instance, one moment a phone user may be listening to high quality 44.1kHz CD-audio, and then receive a call containing 8kHz voice samples. The control signalling for this transition, as well as the simultaneous transfer of the different sample rates, can be handled without dropped samples that can cause clicks or pops. Power conservation is optimised during these constantly changing system states by dynamic ‘gear-shifting’ that matches the bus speed with the bandwidth required.