Power management for a physical layer interface connecting a display panel to a display transmit engine

摘要

By partitioning the source PHY of a physical layer interface, such as a DisplayPort interface, between multiple power domains, dynamic switching between various power modes with faster entry and exit latency can be achieved in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the scheme may be hardware initiated and autonomous in nature. A controller can switch the PHY in and out of the various power consumption modes, dependent on usage scenarios.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
providing at least two isolated power domains for a physical layer interface from a source PHY to a sink PHY in a display, a first power domain being always on and supplying logic blocks that store status and configuration information needed to power up the source PHY, and a second power domain, higher in voltage than said first domain, and being a power gated domain for a common lane; providing a common mode voltage keeper to retain a common mode voltage after a power down, said voltage needed in a higher power consumption state; and providing a third separate, isolated power domain for a data spline.