GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
   
 
 
GC9A01A 
 
a-Si TFT LCD Single Chip Driver 
240RGBx240 Resolution 
 
Data Sheet 
 
 
Rev.1.0 Preliminary 
2019-07-02 
 
LCD-DST-3014 GC9A01 Datasheet V1.0 Preliminary                                                                                    1 / 192 
GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
GENERATION REVISION HISTORY 
REV. 
EFFECTIVE 
DATE 
DESCRIPTION OF CHANGES 
1.0 
2019-07-02 
New Created 
PREPARED 
BY 
June 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LCD-DST-3014 GC9A01 Datasheet V1.0 Preliminary                                                                                    2 / 192 
GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
Table of Content 
4. 
4.2. 
4.3. 
4.4. 
4.5. 
Table of Content ................................................................................................................................................... 3 
1. 
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6 
2.  Features ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 
3.  Block Diagram ............................................................................................................................................. 8 
Block diagram .............................................................................................................................. 8 
3.1. 
Pin Description ............................................................................................................................. 9 
3.2. 
PAD coordinates ......................................................................................................................... 14 
3.3. 
Interface setting .......................................................................................................................................... 20 
MCU interfaces .......................................................................................................................... 20 
4.1. 
4.1.1.  MCU interface selection ..................................................................................................... 21 
4.1.2. 
8080-I Series Parallel Interface .......................................................................................... 22 
4.1.3.  Write Cycle Sequence ........................................................................................................ 23 
4.1.4. 
Read Cycle Sequence ......................................................................................................... 24 
8080-Ⅱ  Series Parallel Interface ....................................................................................... 25 
4.1.5. 
4.1.6.  Write Cycle Sequence ........................................................................................................ 26 
4.1.7. 
Read Cycle Sequence ......................................................................................................... 27 
4.1.8. 
Serial Interface ................................................................................................................... 28 
4.1.9.  Write Cycle Sequence ........................................................................................................ 29 
4.1.10.  Read Cycle Sequence ......................................................................................................... 31 
4.1.11.  Data Transfer Break and Recovery ..................................................................................... 33 
4.1.12.  Data Transfer Pause ............................................................................................................ 35 
4.1.13.  Serial Interface Pause (3_wire) .......................................................................................... 36 
4.1.14.  Parallel Interface Pause ...................................................................................................... 36 
4.1.15.  Data Transfer Mode ............................................................................................................ 36 
4.1.16.  Data Transfer Method 1 ...................................................................................................... 37 
4.1.17.  Data Transfer Method 2 ...................................................................................................... 37 
RGB Interface ............................................................................................................................ 38 
RGB Interface Selection ..................................................................................................... 38 
RGB Interface Timing ........................................................................................................ 41 
VSYNC Interface ....................................................................................................................... 44 
Display Data RAM (DDRAM) .................................................................................................. 45 
Display Data Format .................................................................................................................. 45 
3-line Serial Interface ......................................................................................................... 45 
4-line Serial Interface ......................................................................................................... 48 
2-data-line mode ................................................................................................................. 50 
8-bit Parallel MCU Interface .............................................................................................. 52 
9-bit Parallel MCU Interface .............................................................................................. 55 
16-bit Parallel MCU Interface ............................................................................................ 57 
18-bit Parallel MCU Interface ............................................................................................ 63 
6-bit Parallel RGB Interface ............................................................................................... 67 
16-bit Parallel RGB Interface ............................................................................................. 68 
4.5.1. 
4.5.2. 
4.5.3. 
4.5.4. 
4.5.5. 
4.5.6. 
4.5.7. 
4.5.8. 
4.5.9. 
4.2.1. 
4.2.2. 
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GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
4.5.10. 
5.4. 
5.5. 
5.6. 
5.7. 
5.8. 
5.9. 
5.10. 
6.1. 
6.2. 
5.8.1. 
5.8.2. 
5.4.1. 
5.4.2. 
5.1. 
5.2. 
5.3. 
5.3.1. 
5.3.2. 
5.3.3. 
18-bit Parallel RGB Interface ............................................................................................. 69 
5.  Function Description .................................................................................................................................. 70 
Display data GRAM mapping .................................................................................................... 70 
MCU to memory write/read direction ........................................................................................ 71 
GRAM to display address mapping ........................................................................................... 73 
Normal display on or partial mode on, vertical scroll off ................................................... 74 
Vertical scroll display mode ............................................................................................... 75 
Updating order on display active area in RGB interface mode .......................................... 76 
Tearing effect output line ............................................................................................................ 78 
Tearing effect line modes ................................................................................................... 78 
Tearing effect line timing ................................................................................................... 79 
Source driver .............................................................................................................................. 80 
Gate driver .................................................................................................................................. 80 
Scan mode setting ....................................................................................................................... 81 
LCD power generation circuit .................................................................................................... 82 
Power supply circuit ........................................................................................................... 82 
LCD power generation scheme .......................................................................................... 83 
Gamma Correction ..................................................................................................................... 84 
Power Level Definition .............................................................................................................. 87 
5.10.1.  Power Levels ...................................................................................................................... 87 
5.10.2.  Power Flow Chart ............................................................................................................... 88 
5.10.3.Brightness control block .................................................................................................................. 89 
5.11. 
Input/output pin state .................................................................................................................. 90 
5.11.1.  Output pins ......................................................................................................................... 90 
5.11.2. 
Input pins ............................................................................................................................ 90 
6.  Command ................................................................................................................................................... 91 
Command List ............................................................................................................................ 91 
Description of Level 1 Command .............................................................................................. 97 
Read display identification information (04h) .................................................................... 97 
6.2.1. 
Read Display Status (09h) .................................................................................................. 99 
6.2.2. 
Enter Sleep Mode (10h).....................................................................................................101 
6.2.3. 
Sleep Out Mode (11h) .......................................................................................................103 
6.2.4. 
Partial Mode ON (12h) ......................................................................................................105 
6.2.5. 
Normal Display Mode ON (13h) .......................................................................................106 
6.2.6. 
Display Inversion OFF (20h) .............................................................................................107 
6.2.7. 
Display Inversion ON (21h) ..............................................................................................108 
6.2.8. 
6.2.9. 
Display OFF (28h) .............................................................................................................109 
6.2.10.  Display ON (29h) .............................................................................................................. 110 
6.2.11.  Column Address Set (2Ah) ................................................................................................ 111 
6.2.12.  Row Address Set (2Bh) ..................................................................................................... 113 
6.2.13.  Memory Write (2Ch) ......................................................................................................... 115 
6.2.14.  Partial Area (30h) .............................................................................................................. 117 
6.2.15.  Vertical Scrolling Definition (33h) ....................................................................................120 
6.2.16.  Tearing Effect Line OFF (34h) ..........................................................................................124 
6.2.17.  Tearing Effect Line ON (35h) ...........................................................................................125 
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GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
6.3.1. 
6.3.2. 
6.3.3. 
6.3.4. 
6.3.5. 
6.2.18.  Memory Access Control(36h) ...........................................................................................127 
6.2.19.  Vertical Scrolling Start Address (37h) ...............................................................................130 
Idle Mode OFF (38h) ........................................................................................................132 
6.2.20. 
6.2.21. 
Idle Mode ON (39h) ..........................................................................................................133 
6.2.22.  COLMOD: Pixel Format Set (3Ah) ..................................................................................135 
6.2.23.  Write Memory Contiue (3Ch) ...........................................................................................137 
6.2.24.  Set_Tear_Scanline (44h) ...................................................................................................140 
6.2.25.  Get_Scanline (45h) ............................................................................................................142 
6.2.26.  Write Display Brightness (51h) .........................................................................................143 
6.2.27.  Write CTRL Display (53h) ................................................................................................145 
6.2.28.  Read ID1 (DAh) ................................................................................................................147 
6.2.29.  Read ID2 (DBh) ................................................................................................................149 
6.2.30.  Read ID3 (DCh) ................................................................................................................151 
Description of Level 2 Command .............................................................................................153 
RGB Interface Signal Control (B0h) .................................................................................153 
Blanking Porch Control (B5h) ...........................................................................................156 
Display Function Control (B6h) ........................................................................................158 
Tearing Effect Control (BAh) ............................................................................................161 
Interface Control (F6h) ......................................................................................................163 
Description of Level 3 Command .............................................................................................164 
Frame Rate (E8h) ..............................................................................................................164 
6.4.1. 
SPI 2DATA control(E9h) ...................................................................................................166 
6.4.2. 
Power Control 1 (C1h) ......................................................................................................167 
6.4.3. 
Power Control 2 (C3h) ......................................................................................................168 
6.4.4. 
Power Control 3 (C4h) ......................................................................................................169 
6.4.5. 
Power Control 4 (C9h) ......................................................................................................170 
6.4.6. 
Power Control 7(A7h) .......................................................................................................171 
6.4.7. 
Inter Register Enable1(FEh) ..............................................................................................172 
6.4.8. 
6.4.9. 
Inter Register Enable2(EFh) ..............................................................................................173 
6.4.10.  SET_GAMMA1 (F0h) ......................................................................................................174 
6.4.11.  SET_GAMMA2 (F1h) ......................................................................................................176 
6.4.12.  SET_GAMMA3 (F2h) ......................................................................................................178 
6.4.13.  SET_GAMMA4 (F3h) ......................................................................................................180 
7.  Electrical Characteristics ...........................................................................................................................182 
Absolute Maximum Ratings ......................................................................................................182 
DC Characteristics .....................................................................................................................183 
AC Characteristics .....................................................................................................................185 
Display Parallel 18/16/9/8-bit Interface Timing Characteristics (8080-Ⅰ) ......................185 
Display Parallel 18/16/9/8-bit Interface Timing Characteristics (8080-Ⅱ) ......................187 
Display Serial Interface Timing Characteristics (3-line SPI system) ................................189 
Display Serial Interface Timing Characteristics (4-line SPI system) ................................190 
Parallel 18/16/6-bit RGB Interface Timing Characteristics ...............................................191 
7.3.1. 
7.3.2. 
7.3.3. 
7.3.4. 
7.3.5. 
6.3. 
6.4. 
7.1. 
7.2. 
7.3. 
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GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
1.   Introduction 
GC9A01  is a 262,144-color single-chip SOC driver for a-TFT  liquid crystal  display with resolution of 
240RGBx240  dots,  comprising  a  360-channel  source  driver,  a  32-channel  gate  driver,  129,600  bytes 
GRAM for graphic display data of 240RGBx240 dots, and power supply circuit. 
GC9A01 supports parallel 8-/9-/12-/16-/18-bit data bus MCU interface, 6-/12-/16-/18-bit data bus RGB 
interface  and  3-/4-line  serial  peripheral  interface  (SPI).  The  moving  picture  area  can  be  specified  in 
internal GRAM by window address function. The specified window area can be updated selectively, so 
that moving picture can be displayed simultaneously independent of still picture area. 
GC9A01 supports full color, 8-color display mode and sleep mode for precise power control by software 
and these features make the  GC9A01 an ideal LCD driver for medium or small size portable products 
such as digital cellular phones, smart phone, MP3 and PMP where long battery life is a major concern. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
2. Features 
  No need for external electronic component 
  Display resolution: [240xRGB](H) x 240(V)   
  Output: 
- 360 source outputs 
- 32 gate outputs 
  Resolution: 
80x160:S121-S240 
120x120 120x240:S91-S270 
128x128:S85-S276 
160x160:S61-S300 
240x240:S1-S360 
  a-TFT LCD driver with on-chip full display RAM: 129,600 bytes 
  System Interface 
- 8-bits, 9-bits, 12-bits,16-bits, 18-bits interface with 8080-I /8080-II series MCU 
- 6-bits, 12-bits, 16-bits, 18-bits RGB interface with graphic controller 
- 8-bits, 9-bits 24bit Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and 2 data lane SPI 
  Display mode: 
- Full color mode (Idle mode OFF): 262K-color (selectable color depth mode by software) 
- Reduce color mode (Idle mode ON): 8-color 
  Power saving mode: 
- Sleep mode 
  On chip functions: 
- Timing generator 
- Oscillator 
- DC/DC converter 
- Dot/column inversion 
  Low -power consumption architecture 
- Low operating power supplies: 
  IOVCC = 1.65V ~ 3.3V (logic) 
  VCI = 2.5V ~ 3.3V (analog) 
  LCD Voltage drive: 
- Source/Gamma power supply voltage 
  GVDD - GVCL = 6.4V ~-4.6V 
- Gate driver output voltage 
  VGH - GND = 12.0V ~ 13.0V 
  VGL - GND = -11.0V ~ -8.0V 
  VGH - VGL  ≦27V 
- VCOM connect to GND 
  Operate temperature range: -40℃to 80℃ 
  a-Si TFT LCD storage capacitor : Cst on Common structure only 
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GC9A01 DataSheet                                                                                                   
   
3. Block Diagram 
3.1. Block diagram 
Figure1 
 
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MPU IF18-bit16-bit12-bit8-bit9-bit3/4 Serial IFRGB IF18-bit16-bit12-bit6-bitVCIIOVCCIM[3:0]4Internal registerOTPCSXRDXWRXD/CXRESXD[17:0]18TESDASDOHSYNCVSYNCDOTCLKDEPower RegulatorDVDDGenerator TimingVSSCVSSAStep Up1Step Up2Step Up3AVDDVGHVGLVCLGate DriverLEDControllerIndexRegister(IR)ControlRegister(CR)GraphicsOperationRead Latch881818Graphics RAM(GRAM)18Write Latch1818AddressCounter(AC)Gamma adjusting circuitGrayscale voltage generatorD/A Converter circuitSourcedriverS1~S360V0~63RC-OSCAVEEVREGPVREGNLDOVRDDVREEVRCLBVDDBVEEBCVREG1AVREG1BG1~32