Lime Microsystems Achieves First Silicon Success for Single Chip Multi-Standard Transceiver

Following the successful launch of its 2-4GHz MicroTCA transceiver platform, Lime Microsystems has achieved a single chip multi-band multi-standard reconfigurable transceiver IC. The first test chips back from the foundry have been tested and meet the original requirement for a highly frequency agile transceiver IC, operating from 375MHz to 4GHz. Sending and receiving data has been demonstrated successfully in each of the vital frequency bands required for WiMAX, 3G and LTE operation, paving the way for the adoption of Lime’s multi-standard transceiver architecture in small cell base stations.

The transceiver and its associated reference design can be digitally configured to operate the required frequency bands, with 16 user-selectable bandwidths from 1.5MHz to 28MHz. This means it can transmit and receive data across all WiMAX bands (including those used in different geographical areas), as well as those used for W-CDMA and HSPA, and those that are planned for LTE. This removes the need for individual transceiver chips for each of the different bands, and allows a small cell base station to be reconfigured rapidly and simply. The resulting reduction in bill of materials minimizes costs and inventory for OEMs.

The transceiver IC is presently undergoing an evaluation phase, where selected key customers are consulted for feedback on the specification of the design. The final chip design can then be fine-tuned to incorporate their specific requirements, before ramping up to full production quantities.