Cosmic Circuits’ WiMO™ platform comprises of blocks such as A/D and D/A converters, PLLs, voltage regulators and support functions. These form a part of the Analog-Base-Band section of any wireless connection chip.

Architectural features:

• The platform is specifically architected for nanometer processes
• Effective use of the nanometer core-transistor properties
• Digital friendly architecture - uses a minimum number of analog amplifiers not more than three amplifiers (compared to about 20 amplifiers in traditional architectures) for a 3x3 MIMO solution
• Robust and elegant solution using minimum active blocks
• Architecture suitable for 90nm and 65nm
• Tolerant to substrate-noise and power-supply noise

• Low die-size: save on die-cost
• Low receive power: extends battery life in portable applications
• Low die-perimeter: uses minimum number of IOpads & pins and IO periphery
• High power-supply noise rejection: allows use of the same supply as core through simple on-board filtering
• Independent power-down control schemes allows system-level power-management schemes
• Optimized for low wake times from standby state at low-power

Optional customization & value-added services offered

• Configuring optimally to customers MIMO requirements (3x3, 2x1, etc.) with minimal die-size
• Integration of on-chip power-regulators (switching and linear) to power the AFE and other parts of the system
• Integration of the AFE with IO-ring
• Support for different IO-supply voltages (1.8V, 2.5V, 3.3V)
• Optional buffer to shield mixed-signal switching from RF section
• Generation of multiple clocks for use in the digital core
• Integration of crystal oscillator, differential clock-in and clock-out buffers
• Optional Deep-NWELL isolation

We recognize that one size does not fit all especially when it comes to complex mixed-signal IP. We partner with our customers to tailor the AFE to specific requirements as well as value-add during the course of the entire customer project.

WiChar™ silicon-characterization platform
The effective integration of a complex mixed-signal IP such as an analog front-end into a SoC needs to be validated. We stand by our customers through this process.

Silicon-characterization of MIMO AFE is complex and we simplify this for our customer’s in-house evaluation. Cosmic Circuits has developed an automated WiChar™ silicon-characterization platform specifically for its WiMo™ AFEs.

• Modular digital capture cards for capturing data from multi-channel A/D converters eliminates need for multiple logic analyzers or large on-chip buffer memories
• Modular digital data source cards for sourcing digital signal to multi-channel D/A converters eliminates need for expensive equipments
• Standard WiChar™ test-interface allows control of all the on-chip AFE blocks
• Friendly and intuitive graphical-user-interface based control and characterization of all AFE blocks allows speedy and correct characterization
• Characterize system-level parameters such as MTPR (Missing Tone Performance Ratio) and EVM (Error Vector Magnitude)