The MIPI Alliance announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IEEE to facilitate adoption of the MIPI A-PHY specification as an IEEE standard. 

According to the company, the MIPI A-PHY v1.0 is the first industry-standard, long-reach serializer-deserializer (SerDes) physical layer interface for automotive applications such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS), and other surround-sensor applications, including cameras and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) displays.

MIPI A-PHY serves as the foundation of an end-to-end system designed to simplify the integration of cameras, sensors, and displays across a vehicle while adding functional safety and security to the MIPI CSI-2 and MIPI DSI-2 protocols used in mobile devices and implemented in automotive. As the only long-reach PHY with native support for CSI-2 and DSI-2, according to the company, as well as third-party protocols such as VESA DisplayPort and Embedded DisplayPort, A-PHY offers integration by eliminating the need for bridge ICs.

A-PHY provides an asymmetric data link in a point-to-point topology, delivering high-speed unidirectional data, embedded bidirectional control data, and optional power over a single cable, which per the company, will reduce wiring, cost, and weight. MIPI A-PHY v1.0 offers a low packet error rate (PER) of 10^-19 for ideal performance over the vehicle lifetime, high immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) effects in demanding automotive conditions, and data rate as high as 16 Gbps, with a roadmap to 48 Gbps and beyond.

The MIPI A-PHY v1.0 specification became available to MIPI members in September 2020 and now will go through the IEEE standards-adoption process. According to the company, the MOU could also introduce the adoption of other MIPI specifications, such as A-PHY protocol adaptation layers for MIPI CSI-2 and DSI-2, as IEEE standards in the future. 

Under the MOU, the MIPI Alliance joins the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) as a corporate member and will participate in the IEEE Industry Affiliate Network (IAN). Through IAN, the MIPI Alliance leverages visibility for its specifications across and beyond more than 419,000 IEEE members in over 160 countries and a range of technology spaces.

For more information on IAN, visit https://bit.ly/2GPhazt.

For more information on MIPI, visit www.mipi.org.