High-Performance DSP And Control Processing For Complex 5G Requirements


In the early 2000s, digital signal processors (DSP) were simple in architecture and limited in performance, but complex in programming. However, they evolved to meet of the increased performance requirements of 3G cellular baseband modem applications. A typical 3G modem system would have a single DSP optimized for dual/quad SIMD MAC performance with basic DSP filter instructions like Fast Fouri... » read more

5G OTA Test Not Ready For Production


5G is poised to dominate the wireless world, but over-the-air (OTA) testing of 5G beamforming antennas is still not ready for volume production. Beamforming is a critical element in the millimeter wave version of 5G, because of the limitations of ultra-high-frequency signals. Unlike 4G and its predecessors, millimeter wave technology will not penetrate objects, so signals need to be directed... » read more

Gearing Up For 5G


5G has been touted as the new enabler for many market segments, including mobile phones, automotive, virtual reality, and IoT. But there are many questions and much speculation about when and how this new wireless standard will impact different market segments and what effect it will have on semiconductor design. With a promise of orders of magnitude improvement in communication speed an... » read more

Affordable Design With Wireless Microcontrollers


Today, we are at the peak of technology product availability with the releases of the new iPhone models, Alexa-enabled devices, and more. In the coming days, there will be numerous international consumer OEMs preparing new offerings as we approach the holiday selling season. Along with the smartphones, voice assistant enabled smart speakers and deep learning wireless security cameras, many devi... » read more

Collaboration And Advanced Substrates


Discussions of semiconductor manufacturing tend to focus on CMOS logic and memory devices, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else. Discussions of silicon-on-insulator wafer markets focus on the needs of high performance logic. Lithography analysts emphasize high density memories. It’s easy to forget that real systems contain other devices, too. A modern smartphone probably supports ... » read more

802.11ax: Faster Wireless


Marvell's Sathya Subramanian talks with Semiconductor Engineering about the new 802.11ax wireless standard, how it will work with 5G and existing networks, and how to set up an integrated solution to reduce bottlenecks in the home and in the enterprise. https://youtu.be/KZP59qw6j4Y » read more

Will 5G Deployment Lag in the U.S.?


China and other countries are creating “a 5G tsunami” that the U.S. will not be able to match unless it steps up its national investments in 5G cellular communications, Deloitte Consulting warns in a new report. The firm notes that China has outspent the U.S. on wireless communications infrastructure by $57 billion since 2015, constructing 350,000 new sites, compared with less than 2... » read more

5G Gets Closer To Commercialization


Cellular carriers would like to have their new 5G networks up by the end of 2018 or early 2019. One problem: they need a set of standards to create the new technology. In June, tech representatives met and made significant first step for technology companies to start building out the necessary 5G chips and software. In La Jolla, California, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) met f... » read more

New Roadmap For Electronics


Tech Talk: Melissa Grupen-Shemansky, CTO for SEMI’s FlexTech Group and Advanced Packaging program, looks at what’s changing now that Moore’s Law is slowing, and how packaging is changing as the traditional physical boundaries of electronics begin breaking down. https://youtu.be/UpH1m8Oru90 » read more

IoT Wireless Battles Ahead


"The good thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from." – Andrew S. Tanebaum The extended version of that quote adds "furthermore, if you do not like any of them, you can just wait for next year's model." That could not be truer when it comes to IoT and wireless connectivity. Every standards group is rushing to create new versions of existing standards that use less p... » read more

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