PCI-SIG and MIPI Alliance have announced the start of procedural reviews of the mobile PCI Express (M-PCIe) specification, leading to its completion and availability. The new specification enables PCI Express architecture to operate over the MIPI M-PHY physical layer technology, extending the benefits of the PCIe I/O standard to mobile devices including thin laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The adaptation of PCIe protocols to operate over the M-PHY physical layer provides the mobile industry with a low-power, scalable solution that enables interoperability and a consistent user experience across multiple devices. The layered architecture of the PCIe I/O technology facilitates the integration of the power-efficient M-PHY with its extensible protocol stack to deliver best-in-class and highly scalable I/O functionality for mobile devices. The M-PCIe specification is expected to be available to PCI-SIG members in early Q2 on the PCI-SIG website.

“M-PCIe brings the necessary architecture to support advancement in tablets and smartphones as they take on the role of primary computing devices. The Mobile market is rapidly evolving and so are consumer expectations, placing an emphasis on low-power with increased performance for a better user experience,” said Al Yanes, chairman and president of PCI-SIG.

M-PCIe is an engineering change notice to the PCIe 3.0 base specification. The initial application of this technology is anticipated to be high-performance wireless communications with other applications based on device design requirements. Implementations are expected in the handheld device market, including smartphones, tablets and other ultra-low power applications.

“M-PCIe offers developers power-efficiency with high scalability using the PCIe protocol. The implementation of M-PCIe will provide the Mobile industry with truly scalable PCIe solutions to meet consumer demand for next generation mobile devices,” said Brian O’Rourke, senior principal analyst at HIS.

Cadence Design Systems has already introduced the first commercially available design IP (IP) and verification IP (VIP) supporting the new M-PCIe specification, which enables hardware designers to develop products with both PC-class performance and extended battery life.

Implementers of M-PCIe technology must be members of both PCI-SIG and MIPI Alliance in order to leverage member benefits, including access to licensing rights and specification evolutions.

Tags: PCI Express