MIPI UiPro v2.0 Updates for Peak Data Rate & Throughput for Flash Applications

August 11, 2022

News

The MIPI Alliance, an international mobile interface specifications organization, updated its application-agnostic MIPI UniPro transport layer for chip-to-chip/interprocessor communication (IPC) applications in traditional and modular device architectures. Version 2.0 includes features that double the data rate, while improving throughput and decreasing latency. 

MIPI UniPro has existed as transport and link layers in several editions of the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association's Universal Flash Storage (UFS) standard; MIPI-M-PHY has acted as the physical layer connecting memory components. These components can be used in a range of products, such as action cameras, smartphones, infotainment platforms, and more. JEDEC's upcoming UFS 4.0 standard will utilize the upgrades present in UniPro v2.0 and M-PHY v5.0.

UniPro v2.0's upgrades involve high-speed serial line communication and support for simultaneous, high-bandwidth transactions, as well as:

• Support for the MIPI M-PHY v5.0 "High Speed Gear 5" (HS-G5) – The UniPro protocol is deployed on MIPI M-PHY at the physical layer to optimize throughput, system performance and service quality. UniPro v2.0 uses M-PHY HS-G5 to increase bandwidth 2x over the previous version to 23.32 Gbps per lane and direction to meet the memory storage ecosystem’s data rate requirements. 
• Increased payload length – The UniPro L2 layer packet payload length grew from 272 to 1144, allowing lower protocol overhead with higher link speed, overall improving throughput for storage applications.
• High-speed linkup – Latency in completing a link (or “stack boot”) in storage applications is decreased by up to ~8 milliseconds in v2.0.

UniPro v2.0 also removes features, like lower speed, that are no longer in wide use in the UFS industry — simplifying the integration process for designers and ensuring compatibility with the previous v1.8. The specification’s conformance test suite (CTS) is also being updated to account for the new features in v2.0. 

For more information, visit MIPI.