Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) today announced the HD66735 single-chip graphics LCD
controller/driver with 1-line/8-character display capability for MD and AV products,
incorporating as an industry first a kanji ROM compliant with the Music JIS*1 standard and a dot-
by-dot horizontal smooth-scroll display function. Sample shipments will begin on May 13, 1999 in
Japan.
In addition, sample shipments of a hangul/chinese font version will begin in August, 1999 in Japan.
Kanji displays on small LCD panels are currently used in a wide variety of products, including
cellular phones, pagers, digital cordless phones, and portable audio devices.
In addition, there has been a recent rapid increase in the popularity of MD and MP3*2 portable
digital audio devices, and their use is diversifying from simple recording and playback to such
applications as data links to personal computers and music information net distribution services.
This has brought a demand for the display of kanji and special music symbols (such as a quarter
note) in addition to the usual kana and alphanumeric fonts.
Portable audio devices generally use a small LCD panel capable of displaying a font of around 240
kana, alphanumeric, and other characters in a single 5- to 9-character line. Display of kanji
hangul, chinese, and other special characters has previously required a chip-set comprising an
LCD driver with built-in bit-mapped RAM and kanji/hangul/chinese-language character generator
ROM. However, a great amount of microcomputer software processing is required each time a
font pattern for character display is expanded in the driver with built-in RAM, making it difficult
to achieve high performance and functionality together with low power consumption.
Hitachi already offers the 4-line/10-character kanji display HD66731 and 4-line/8-character display
HD66733, with on-chip JIS Level 1 kanji ROM, and the HD66732 incorporating kanji up to JIS
Level 2, for use with small LCD panel displays. Now, the new HD66735 provides, as an industry
first, on-chip kanji ROM complying with the Music JIS standard to meet the needs of MD and
similar portable audio devices.
The HD66735 incorporates a kanji font (approximately 8,000 characters) complying with the
Music JIS standard, equivalent to JIS Levels 1 and 2. It also includes a character generator ROM
for complex kanji/hangul/chinese-language font patterns, and bit-mapped RAM necessary for full-
graphics display, on a single chip, eliminating the need for an external kanji character generator
ROM, and reducing the required mounting space to approximately half that of a conventional
chip-set configuration (Hitachi comparison).
Moreover, kanji display can be implemented simply by accepting two-byte Music JIS character
codes from a microcomputer, allowing a drastic reduction in the microcomputer software
processing load associated with kanji/hangul/chinese-language font expansion to approximately
1/60 of the previous requirement (Hitachi comparison).
The HD66735 is also capable of 96 x 13-dot full-graphics display, kanji and graphics display, and
segment display providing for the display of 160 marks, and can provide indications such as a low-
battery alarm in combination with the blink function. A superimposed display function is also
provided that overlaps kanji and bit-mapped full-graphics displays.
To enable a large amount of information to be displayed on a small LCD panel, the HD66735
supports horizontal and vertical smooth-scroll functions that can be controlled on a dot-by-dot
basis. This simplifies smooth-scroll display processing-previously only possible with bit-mapped
display systems performing dot-by-dot on/off control-while reducing the software processing
load on the microcomputer. A partial horizontal smooth-scroll display function is also supported,
in which the first two characters are constantly displayed while the remaining six characters are
selectively scrolled. Combined use of these smooth-scroll functions enables a variety of displays
to be achieved on a small LCD screen.
The HD66735 employs a low-power-consumption architecture. An on-chip 3X step-up circuit
generates a maximum 6 V LCD drive voltage when the HD66735 is running on a 2 V power
supply voltage, enabling the chip to operate on a single 2 V power supply. When no display is
performed, overall system power consumption can be greatly reduced through the use of a standby
mode and a step-up circuit halt function. A built-in power supply op-amp for low-power-
consumption type LCD drive enables the current dissipation required for LCD drive to be cut by
approximately 2/3 (Hitachi comparison), making the HD66735 ideal for use in portable audio
devices and similar small, lightweight products that have to run on battery power for long periods.
The HD66735 is shipped as a bending TCP type that allows bent mounting between the chip and
LCD glass on a TCP*3 tape, as a die with gold bump type for COG*4 mounting, or as die with
aluminum type for COB*5 mounting.
Notes: 1. Music JIS: A kanji code standard for use in MD and similar audio applications.
A shift JIS kanji code system including kanji codes complying with record kanji
code RIS506-1996 established by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
2. MP3 (MPEG1 Audio Layer 3): A compression standard relating to MPEG
(a moving picture compression standard) audio information.
3. TCP (Tape Carrier Package): A package in which the chip is mounted on a film
tape.
4. COG (Chip On Glass): A mounting method in which a die with a gold bump is
directly mounted face-down on the LCD glass.
5. COB (Chip On Board): A mounting method in which a die with aluminum is
mounted by wire-bonding.
< Typical Applications >
MD, MP3, and similar portable audio devices
Car audio and ITS products with kanji display capability
Kanji-display remote controllers
< Prices in Japan > (For Reference Only)
Product Code Shipment Form Sample Price (Yen)
HD66735A03TB0L BendingTCP 840
HCD66735A03BP Die with gold bump 650
HCD66735A03 Die with aluminum pad 560 |
