First programmable transceiver simplifies wireless connectivity

The BW1102 Softtransceiver RFIC is the world’s first programmable CMOS RF transceiver to be configured for multiple wireless protocols, such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA, CDMA2K, EVDO, 802.11b/g and 802.16d/e. The BW1102 is a single, low-cost, low-power chip which is being targeted at the cellular handset and femtocell markets.

The CMOS RF transceiver enables wireless consumer applications to seamlessly switch between multiple frequency bands and wireless communication protocols thus ensuring global connectivity for wireless devices. Moreover, integrating the BW1102 in wireless designs allows manufacturers to reduce component count, lower BOM costs and improve time-to-market.

In addition, the BW1102 can be reconfigured to support new bands, such as 700MHz which is set to be available in the United States in 2009. It can be reconfigured for new protocols, such as LTE – the next generation protocol in the UMTS family. The flexibility of multiple wireless bands and multiple protocols of operation is achieved using software mode files, a first in the RFIC industry. This provides the BW1102 Softransceiver with the ability to be at the core of multiple product designs.

With this technology, designers can create a truly global product, which lowers overall development costs as one product can address multiple markets. Moreover, femtocell manufacturers can future-proof their designs by utilizing the field programmability feature of the BW1102 Softransceiver to upgrade their designs to support additional protocols or bands.

The BW1102 has a very small footprint and require minimal external components. The BW1102 is built on a standard digital CMOS process and is supplied in a 7x7 mm PBGA package for low cost and small size. The transceiver integrates all requisite RF, analog, mixed-signal and digital circuitry and also includes built-in test and calibration.