WiMAX on the rise, chips on the way

WiMAX technology enables the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as a choice to cable and DSL. According to In-Stat, the global WiMAX chipset market is set to reach 21 million units in 2011, growing from 300,000 chipsets in 2006. The growth is being driven by the emergence of mobile WiMAX applications.



In 2004, most of the chips released were 802.16e standard compliant. After that, most of the WiMAX chipsets unveiled in 2005 and 2006 were 802.16d-compliant – targeted at fixed WiMAX. This year, there have been some chipsets launched for mobile WiMAX, also called WiBro. Key vendors of WiBro chips are NXP Semiconductors, AsicAhead NV and GCT Semiconductor Inc. In Taiwan, local vendors such as Realtek Semiconductor Corp. and Ralink Technology Corp. develop baseband and RF chipsets for WiMAX. According to Rick Jeng, executive vice president of Ralink, “Based on the success of Wi-Fi, the move to WiMAX will happen pretty soon.” He also said that MIMO technologies will provide a flexible path for continuous innovation across IEEE 802.11n, 802.11 a/b/g and b/g standards.



LIMITATIONS OF BEING FABLESS

Constrained by RF design resources, most fabless companies in Taiwan stay focused on baseband solutions. Only a few fabless companies are able to provide RF modules for WiMAX. However, this doesn’t mean that ongoing projects have come to a halt.



For example, Airoha Technology Corp., which was recently acquired by Mediatech, has launched RF chipsets for GSM/GPRS, PHS, FM and wireless LAN.



Moreover, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and National Taiwan University (NTU) have collaborated in designing and developing a high-performance, fully integrated RF receiver design for WiMAX. The RF receiver features ultra low operating voltage and low noise level of 5-6dB.



“With the new type of system architecture, DC offset is suppressed, resulting in direct conversion well below noise levels,” said Prof. Shey-Shi Lu of NTU’s Graduate Institute of Electronics Engineering. “The silicon process was supported by UMC, which enabled us to extend our research for the emerging WiMAX standard. Design of this RF receiver will be packaged as an IP for commercial applications.”



GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Taking advantage of the wireless broadband growth, Taiwan’s Department of Industrial Technology has launched a project to boost development of 802.16e chipset, 802.16e baseband, and system integration of WiMAX.



The government said that the revenue from WiMAX equipment sales will reach $1 billion in 2008.



Illustrations:



Figure 1