BRCM: Broadcom Establishes Mobile Technology Leadership with World's First 65nm and Smallest EDGE Transceiver

Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced the industry's first 65 nanometer EDGE radio frequency (RF) transceiver. Designed as a monolithic die in pure digital CMOS process technology, this new Broadcom® device integrates all transceiver and analog baseband functionality to deliver unparalleled savings in power consumption, size and cost. Introduction of this product marks a significant milestone for the wireless industry, as Broadcom applies years of research and development and extensive expertise in CMOS radio devices to the cellular market to forge an integration path towards a monolithic EDGE system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution.

EDGE is currently operating on nearly 200 networks worldwide and represents the next step on the evolutionary path to third generation (3G) cellular services. With data rates up to three times the capacity of old GPRS networks, EDGE allows the delivery of advanced mobile services such as the downloading of video and music clips, full multimedia messaging, high-speed color Internet access and email on-the-go. According to the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association), most GPRS networks will convert to EDGE as part of the evolution to 3G, with 258 networks in 136 countries committed to deploying EDGE. Of those networks, 196 are commercial in 105 countries. According to market research firm iSupply, EDGE represents the single largest segment of the mobile phone market with 470 million units expected to ship in 2010. Additionally, market analysts expect the standalone RF transceiver market to approach $6 billion by 2010.

"With the introduction of our new EDGE transceiver, we are taking the next big step towards fulfilling Broadcom's vision of a complete mobile platform solution," said Charlie Wilcoxson, Senior Director of Broadcom's Cellular RF line of business. "Broadcom has proven its industry-leading expertise in pure digital CMOS radio design with leadership in both the Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® markets, having shipped hundreds of millions of high performance CMOS radios into the most demanding consumer and enterprise products. We are now poised to extend this leadership into the cellular radio market by offering our customers the industry's most advanced EDGE transceiver and providing a solid migration path to 3G."

With a goal to capitalize on the widespread transition to EDGE networks, Broadcom today announces the BCM2085 EDGE cellular RF transceiver. This highly integrated single-chip solution is designed in a 65nm CMOS process that delivers the industry's lowest power consumption (helping to extend battery life), as well as the lowest bill of materials (BoM) cost. Combining low power, high integration and low cost, the BCM2085 is compatible with all DigRF-compliant basebands, enabling lower cost and reducing the RF board area by more than 50 percent for EDGE mobile devices.

Technical Information

The BCM2085 EDGE transceiver draws upon Broadcom's extensive experience in pure digital CMOS radio design to deliver outstanding RF performance while achieving both low cost and low power consumption. The highly integrated transceiver also includes the analog baseband and DigRF interface. A novel polar transmit architecture is employed to provide low transmit power, eliminate any filters in the transmit path and use standard linear power amplifiers readily available from multiple sources. The receiver is based on a proven low-IF architecture providing suppression of DC offsets, avoiding the issues related to direct conversion receivers and simplifying integration with basebands.

The transceiver also includes Broadcom's proprietary SmartRadio™ technology, which employs continuous real-time calibration techniques. SmartRadio delivers superior radio performance in a pure digital CMOS process without baseband intervention, enabling RF performance typically previously achieved only by radios that use more expensive specialty silicon processes. Broadcom's SmartRadio technology was originally developed and deployed in the company's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, which have been field proven in hundreds of millions of transceivers for over 5 years. As a result, the BCM2085 will accelerate customers' time to market by simplifying design while ensuring a robust solution for manufacturing.

Availability

Samples of the quad-band Broadcom BCM2085 EDGE RF transceiver are available this month. Housed in a 4mm x 4mm BGA package, the BCM2085 is priced at $5.00 in volume quantities of 100,000 units or more.