Process development
The 50Ohm PE4261 complements the PE4263 RF SP6T antenna switch aimed at the quad-band GSM handset ASM market. Early designs incorporating the PE4263 have been validated and production is ramping with global cellular handset market-leaders.
The two devices were developed on Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology - a proprietary, patented variation of silicon-on-insulator (SOI). It is the first commercially qualified use of the company's Ultra-Thin-Silicon (UTSi) on sapphire substrates. Significant performance advantages are claimed over competing processes such as GaAs, SiGe, BiCMOS and bulk silicon CMOS in applications where RF performance, low power and integration are paramount.
Peregrine also claims that for the first time ever CMOS has been directly connected to the antenna of a GSM handset. UltraCMOS is designed to provide superior performance, lower insertion loss and higher integration alternatives to pin-diodes or pHEMT switch/CMOS designs. UltraCMOS combines the RF, mixed-signal, and digital capabilities of any other CMOS process, yet tolerates the high voltages needed in high-performance wireless applications. The new antenna switch devices are due for high-volume production in multiple facilities, including those of Peregrine's strategic partner, OKI Electric Industry.
Anadigm has developed a "FreezeFrame" option to transfer designs developed on its field programmable analogue arrays (FPAAs) to a structured drop-in replacement structured application-specific IC (ASIC). The company estimates that this will provide high-volume applications with a cost reduction path yielding savings of up to 60% over the life of a given design. By removing programming and configuration resources that are not needed for the specific application, Anadigm is also able to provide a reduced die area. Because the basic building blocks and process technology are identical, the performance of the FreezeFrame device is guaranteed to match that of the original configured FPAA.
FPAAs can be used to create and implement analogue interfaces in audio, telecom and industrial applications. By abstracting analogue functions to software that can be controlled, modified, and reconfigured in real-time, FPAAs bring the analogue segment of an embedded system into the same software-controlled world as the microcontroller/microprocessor while maintaining a front-to-back analogue signal path.
Anadigm will use the FPAA design file to create a FreezeFrame equivalent and deliver working prototypes back to the customer for evaluation. Once the FreezeFrame device has been approved by the customer, production quantities can be available in four weeks. The AN120E04 and AN121E04 are the first FPAA devices for which Anadigm will offer FreezeFrame equivalents.
