IMEC SDR targets broadband wireless

MUNICH, Germany — With a baseband platform for software defined radios (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 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 front-end tiles, each with a proprietary application-specific integrated processor (ASIP) to assure 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. The research institute expects first product with the FLAI inside could be on the market in the first half of 2010.