Texas Instruments DRA721AHGABCQ1

Overview

DRA721AHGABCQ1 from Texas Instruments is an AEC-Q100 qualified automotive infotainment applications processor featuring a single Arm® Cortex®-A15 CPU core, one C66x floating-point DSP core, 512KB on-chip L3 RAM with ECC, dual Arm® Cortex®-M4 IPUs, and a PowerVR™ SGX544 3D GPU - deployed in telematics control units and digital instrument clusters requiring full-HD video (1920×1080p, 60 fps) and secure boot.

For engineers reviewing the DRA721AHGABCQ1 datasheet, DRA721AHGABCQ1 pinout, DRA721AHGABCQ1 application, or DRA721AHGABCQ1 equivalent, key selection criteria include DDR3-1333 support (667 MHz), PCIe Gen2 dual-lane capability, dual DCAN 2.0B interfaces, HDMI 1.4a compliance, and 215 GPIOs for HMI expansion and sensor integration in safety-compliant automotive systems.

Technical Context

The DRA721AHGABCQ1 implements a heterogeneous multi-core architecture: the Cortex-A15 handles OS and application layers, while the C66x DSP offloads real-time video encoding/decoding and audio processing; both cores share the L3 interconnect and 512KB OCMC RAM with SECDED/ECC protection. The IVA-HD subsystem manages full-HD video pipelines, and the VPE enables hardware-accelerated video scaling and color space conversion.

Its connectivity stack includes two independent Gigabit Ethernet ports (MII/RMII/RGMII), four McASP modules supporting multichannel audio I/O, dual DCAN controllers for vehicle bus communication, and PCIe 3.0 with flexible lane allocation (one 2-lane or two 1-lane Gen2-compliant ports). All security features - including hardware crypto accelerators, JTAG lock, secure ROM, and customer-programmable keys (Silicon Revision 2.1) - are enabled per AEC-Q100 Grade 2 requirements.

Key Specifications

Pinout & Package

Package: 760-ball FCBGA (ABC), 23.0 mm × 23.0 mm, 0.8-mm pitch, RoHS-compliant, with 215 user-accessible GPIOs and dedicated power/ground ball arrays per TI SPRS956H Rev H.

Key Features

Applications

Equivalent & Alternatives

The following parts are listed as comparable options for similar infotainment applications.

Compared with DRA722ABCQ1 and DRA725ABCQ1, the DRA721AHGABCQ1 delivers identical peripheral count, security features, and AEC-Q100 qualification at a lower speed grade and without radio-specific accelerators - making it the most cost-effective option for navigation, HMI, and rear-seat entertainment where those capabilities are unnecessary.

Availability

DRA721AHGABCQ1 is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for automotive infotainment systems, digital instrument clusters, and telematics control units requiring stable component supply, long-term lifecycle support, and AEC-Q100 compliance.

Supply support for DRA721AHGABCQ1 includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

Texas Instruments is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, designing analog, embedded processing, and wireless chips for automotive, industrial, and consumer markets since 1930.

The DRA721AHGABCQ1 belongs to TI's Jacinto™6 Eco family - engineered specifically for cost-optimized, AEC-Q100 qualified infotainment systems that demand scalable performance, hardware security, and seamless integration with automotive buses (CAN, Ethernet AVB, PCIe).

FAQ

What is the maximum operating frequency of the Cortex-A15 core in DRA721AHGABCQ1?

The DRA721AHGABCQ1 features a G-grade speed bin with a maximum Cortex-A15 operating frequency of 1.2 GHz under recommended conditions (1.15 V core, 105°C junction). This is confirmed in Table 5-5 (Operating Performance Points) of SPRS956H Rev H, where OPP_HIGH specifies 1.2 GHz for G-grade devices. DRA721AHGABCQ1 does not support the 1.5 GHz OPP used by H-grade variants like DRA722ABCQ1.

Does DRA721AHGABCQ1 support DDR3L memory?

Yes, DRA721AHGABCQ1 supports both DDR3 and DDR3L memory through its EMIF module, as explicitly stated in Section 1.1 Features and Table 5-7 (Voltage Domains Operating Performance Points) of SPRS956H Rev H. It operates with VDD_DDR = 1.35 V ± 3% for DDR3L-1066/1333 configurations, enabling lower-power operation in thermally constrained automotive environments.

Is the DRA721AHGABCQ1 pin-compatible with other DRA72x devices?

Yes, DRA721AHGABCQ1 is fully pin-compatible with DRA722ABCQ1, DRA724ABCQ1, DRA725ABCQ1, and DRA726ABCQ1 in the 760-ball ABC FCBGA package, as confirmed in Section 1.3 Description ("pin-compatible across the family") and Table 3-1 Device Comparison. This allows shared PCB designs and software reuse across performance tiers and feature variants within the Jacinto 6 Eco family.

What security features are enabled on DRA721AHGABCQ1?

DRA721AHGABCQ1 includes hardware crypto accelerators (AES-128/256, SHA-256, RSA-2048), secure ROM with immutable boot code, JTAG lock, firewalls for memory isolation, and secure key storage. Customer-programmable keys are supported starting with Silicon Revision 2.1 - matching the revision level documented for DRA721AHGABCQ1 in TI's nomenclature guide and SPRS956H Rev H.

Does DRA721AHGABCQ1 include the VPE (Video Processing Engine)?

Yes, DRA721AHGABCQ1 integrates the Video Processing Engine (VPE) as a standard feature, as listed in Section 1.1 Features and confirmed in the functional block diagram (Figure 1-1) of SPRS956H Rev H. The VPE provides hardware-accelerated video scaling, deinterlacing, and color space conversion - essential for multi-source video composition in rear-seat entertainment and digital cluster applications.