Imec unveils versatile digital radio front end IC

[Karl W4KRL]

Accelerated deployment of broadband personal communication coupled with
rising demand for high data rates leads to increasing spectrum scarcity.
Dynamic access to the available spectrum would increase throughput
efficiency significantly. For example, in licensed radio bands dynamic
spectrum access would allow personal mobile terminals to seamlessly
establish and maintain reliable wireless links, while in unlicensed bands it
would considerably enhance the utility of devices that rely on uninterrupted
connectivity to provide the desired service - such as security, health care,
and remote monitoring devices.

 

Conventional radio architectures are designed to receive a predefined
channel and are not suitable for fast, cost-efficient and energy-efficient
multi-mode communication and spectrum sensing (frequency scanning), which
are essential for next-generation cognitive radio systems that enable
dynamic spectrum access.

 

As part of a programme aimed at paving the way for effective and
energy-efficient cognitive radios and networks, Imec has now developed a
digital front end component for low-cost, low-power spectrum sensing. It is
designed to provide spectrum sensing functions in collaboration with Imec's
analogue reconfigurable radio chip (Scaldio) and programmable digital
baseband platform for 4G seamless connectivity (Cobra).

 

Imec's new DiffS spectrum sensing IC is a versatile digital engine designed
to operate in a wide variety of applications scenarios with low cost and low
power overhead. The IC, which hosts a dedicated application-specific
integrated processor, can perform flexible synchronisation and spectrum
sensing in diverse environments, including high-throughput WLAN (802.11a-n),
mobile telecommunication (including recent 3GPP-LTE systems), and digital
broadcasting.

 

 

http://www2.imec.be/be_en/press/imec-news/imecdigitalfrontend.html

 

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