Microwave Engineering Europe - March 2008 - (Page 3)

By JP Joosting, Microwave Engineering Europe NEWS 3 IMEC baseband platform for SDR targets broadband wireless With a baseband platform for software deﬁned radio (SDR), Belgian research institution IMEC will enable future broadband wireless applications such as 802.11n WiFi or Mobile WiMax according to IEEE standard 802.16e. The platform incorporates what IMEC calls a ﬂexible air interface (FLAI) for wireless base stations. The device contains two instances of IMEC’s proprietary Architecture for Dynamically Reconﬁgurable Embedded Systems (ADRES) which function as baseband controllers. In addition, the device contains three digital frontend tiles, each with a proprietary applicationspeciﬁc integrated processor (ASIP) to enssure sync detection and an ARM9 processor with optimized AMBA interconnect to link the single modules of the SoC to on-chip memories. The ADRES processors are supported by a proprietary C-code compiler. The IP blocks come with reference platform control software and reference ﬁrmware for IEEE802.11n (WiFi), 802.16e (mobile WiMax) and 3GPP-LTE. IMEC claims the device’s power management approach reduces power consumption in standby mode to a few milliwatts, although it is capable of receiving data bursts from any supported wireless standard. IMEC will license the IP to the industry and expects the ﬁrst product with the FLAI inside to be on the market in the ﬁrst half of 2010. www.mwee.com/206503742 IN BRIEF ZigBee Alliance completes smart energy proﬁle The ZigBee Alliance’s Smart Energy proﬁle offers utilities a global open standard for implementing secure, easy-to-use wireless home area networks for managing energy. In addition, product manufacturers now have a standards-based technology that they can implement to access to a burgeoning marketplace for green products without worrying about interoperability. Utilities can use the standard in applications such as advanced metering, demand response, load control, pricing, and customer messaging programs. The standard provides communication and control for devices such as in-home displays, programmable thermostats, water heaters, lighting, smart appliances, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plus energy service portals and energy management systems. A number of Alliance members are currently building products for ZigBee Smart Energy. www.mwee.com/205920345 Andrew sells satellite communications business to Resilience Capital Partners Andrew Corporation, a CommScope subsidiary, has completed the sale of its Satellite Communications business to Resilience Capital Partners, a Cleveland, Ohio-based private equity ﬁrm. The former Andrew Satellite Communications business will be operated as a newly-formed, independent company called ASC Signal Corporation. The new company will continue operations from its current major facilities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and select regional locations around the globe. Its headquarters will be in Garner, North Carolina. In addition, Andrew will own a minority 17.9 percent share of ASC Signal and provide certain transition support services to the new company. At closing, Andrew received 8.5 million USD in cash and a 2.5 million USD note from ASC Signal that will mature in 39 months. In addition, Andrew expects to receive an additional 2.5 million USD note upon completion of certain manufacturing asset transfers to an ASC Signal facility. www.mwee.com/206103365 Inﬁneon subsidiary partners in Israel for wireless design Inﬁneon subsidiary Comneon GmbH (Nuremberg, Germany), a developer of embedded software and protocol stacks, has formed a partnership with Asocs Ltd. (Rosh Haayin, Israel), a specialist in multiprotocol processors for handheld devices. Asocs has licensed a GSM/GPRS/ EDGE protocol stack software license for immediate implementation on Asocs’ MultiComm processor, with an upgrade to 3.5G, HSPA+, LTE and beyond. The companies have agreed to cooperate in marketing and sales activates worldwide. Asocs is reported to have been formed in June 2003 to develop a conﬁgurable baseband chip that could transform itself from a cellular protocol stack chip to a W-CDMA chip or a WLAN Wi-Fi chip on-the-ﬂy and in real-time. www.mwee.com/205920347 ST readies integrated SoC for NFC applications STMicroelectronics will start sampling in the second quarter of the year to lead customers engineering versions of an integrated secure SoC for Near Field Communications applications. Implemented in the company’s 0.13-micron embedded non-volatile memory EEPROM technology, the device, dubbed the ST21NFCA, integrates all the necessary hardware and software for a complete NFC system, including support for all the NFC proximity and vicinity standards. The SoC offers a complete hardware capability for contactless communication at 13.56 MHz, and is suitable to be designed into RF reader systems, as well as RF Tag or contactless smart cards. The device also integrates the necessary Host Controller Interface (HCI) functions, in addition to interfaces for both the I2Cbus and SPIbus, and is compliant with the ETSI speciﬁcation for Single Wire Protocol (SWP), which describes the connection between a mobile phone’s UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) and the NFC controller. The chip also incorporates an integrated RF analog front end (AFE) and embedded ﬁrmware that supports the existing contactless standards for proximity and vicinity. www.mwee.com/206503700 Microwave Engineering ● March 2008 ● www.mwee.com 003_MWEE.indd 3 22/02/08 12:02:57 http://www.mwee.com/206503742 http://www.mwee.com/205920345 http://www.mwee.com/206103365 http://www.mwee.com/206503700 http://www.mwee.com/205920347 http://www.mwee.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Microwave Engineering Europe - March 2008

Microwave Engineering Europe - March 2008 News Contents Comment Wireless Infrastructure: A Direct Conversion I/Q Demodulatordrives Favorable Basestation Cost-performance Metrics Wireless Infrastructure: Mobile World Set to Reshape the Internet RF Amplifiers: Latest Advances in RF Amplifiers Include a CMOS PA Operating at 77 GHz and Significant Advances in PAs for WiMAX and Broadband Applications Many Applications Still Require Unique Performance Benefits of BeO ACE Automated Circuit Extraction Returns to Real Design by Exploring Design Alternatives and Changes in Seconds Exceeding the Standard for Wireless Sensor Networks Products Calendar

Microwave Engineering Europe - March 2008

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