PMC UniTRX(tm) Chipset For Next-Generation Macro Base Stations (Graphic: Business Wire)

PMC® (Nasdaq:PMCS), the semiconductor innovator transforming storage, optical and mobile networks, today announced the industry’s lowest power and most integrated radio transceiver chipset for macro base station designs. PMC’s new UniTRX™ chipset replaces up to 14 discrete devices, and reduces both board space and power by more than 50 percent for equivalent multi-standard base station radio designs. It addresses multi-standard macro base station performance requirements and simplifies the design of dense MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) radio units, such as active antenna systems (see figures 1-3).

The UniTRX chipset includes three integrated monolithic CMOS devices:

• UniTX™ is a dual-transmitter RFIC for multi-standard, wideband radio designs. It supports the JESD204B interface, includes high-performance data converters and small-signal RF functions, such as analog quadrature modulators and local oscillators. The device also integrates feedback sampling channels to support digital pre-distortion (DPD) and an embedded processor for control and calibration.
• UniRX™ is a dual-receiver RFIC for multi-standard, wideband radio designs. It supports the JESD204B interface, includes high-precision analog-to-digital converters, and small-signal RF functions, such as mixers and local oscillators. An embedded processor is included for control and calibration.
• SyntheCLK™ is a low-phase-noise clock synthesizer with an integrated jitter attenuator. It integrates high-performance PLLs and VCO to condition and regenerate precision system clocks, and configurable low-noise outputs to distribute the clocks throughout the radio module.

“Beyond power and space benefits, the UniTRX chipset provides integrated processors to configure and monitor the transmit and receive radio chains by software,” said Tom Sun, vice president and general manager of PMC’s Broadband Wireless Division. “This allows leading wireless infrastructure equipment suppliers to develop a common radio platform for use across an ever-expanding product portfolio.”

The UniTRX chipset is designed to support wideband modules operating in the 400 MHz to 4 GHz frequency range. It addresses the performance requirements of macro base station transceivers that feature multiple standards, including MC-GSM, cdma2000®, WCDMA and LTE. High integration and low power make the chipset suitable for single-sector radio module designs and scalable for MIMO applications, such as active antenna systems. In addition to IF radio architectures, the UniTX also supports Zero-IF designs.