NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR'S RSDS FLAT PANEL TIMING CONTROLLER REDUCES POWER CONSUMPTION, EMI NOISE AND COST IN XGA AND SVGA FLAT PANEL DISPLAYS

July 24, 2000 - National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM) today announced a universal interface XGA panel timing controller with RSDS (Reduced Swing Differential Signaling) that reduces power and lowers EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) for the next generation of thinner, lighter flat panel displays. With RSDS providing the interface signal routing and timing control to the column and row drivers, the FPD87310 reduces output voltage levels by completely replacing noisy TTL signals on the bus.

RSDS, a derivative of National's Low Voltage Differential Signal (LVDS) technology, is recognized as the only totally differential signal routing interface available today between the timing controller and TFT-LCD column drivers. The FPD87310 timing controller with RSDS further reinforces National's leadership in chip design for higher resolution flat-panel displays targeted for notebooks, information appliances and other mobile products. Flat Panel Displays are also picked as eventual replacements for bulky monitors for desktop computers and other consumer appliances including, potentially, High Definition Digital Television (HDTV).

"Ordinarily, increased EMI and power consumption are in direct ratio to higher resolutions and clock rates," said Mitch Abbey, product marketing manager for National's Interface Products Group. "But with RSDS technology, National has lowered panel dynamic power consumption and minimized EMI on the column driver bus. In addition, external component count and PCB board space is reduced as is the complexity of panel assembly. This development is another key step in the migration toward larger and higher-resolution panels that will eventually replace traditionally bulky, power-hungry CRTs."

The 80-pin FPD87310 includes an FPD-Link receiver to input video data and control timing from the video data with the column driver start pulse control. The FPD-Link receiver supports graphics controllers with a spread spectrum interface for reduced EMI.

An 8 to 6 bit translator narrows the data path with a time multiplexed dithering technique or simple truncation of the LSBs. The column driver start pulse and column driver data are aligned by a datapath block and subsequently output on nine differential dual channels by the RSDS data transmitter. A vertical and horizontal counter controls column drivers, row drivers and power supply as General Purpose Outputs (GPO). Five registers provide the timing definition for each GPO, which can be used to generate control anywhere within the frame data. Serial EEPROM interface configures the internal programmable registers at initialization and can be programmed "in system" to provide quick evaluation of different display timing.

Price and Availability
The FPD87310 is available now in an 80-pin TQFP (Thin Quad Plastic Flat Pack). Price in quantities of 1,000s is $4.20 each. For more information on National's timing controllers, please visit our web site at www.national.com/pf/FP/FPD87310.html.

About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2.1 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 10,500 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.