DSP Array Produces WiMAX, HSDPA Solutions From Reference Designs

Thanks to complete software implementations of 802.16 (WiMAX) basestations and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) picocells, designers can rapidly develop full system solutions using the PC102 communications processor. The PC8520 and PC8218 software implementations, created by picoChip Designs Ltd., run on the PC102 picoArray. This highly parallel compute engine targets DSP applications.

A high-speed deterministic interconnect fabric connects a total of 322 array elements on the PC102—308 processors and 14 coprocessors. The processors and coprocessors can operate at clock rates of up to 160 MHz. Each processor consists of a 16-bit Harvard architecture CPU with three-way, long-instruction-word commands and local memory. The coprocessors provide specialized computation acceleration for certain functions, including Viterbi operations. Overall, the chip produces a top throughput of 200 giga-instructions/s and 40 giga-multiply-accumulates/s.

The software reference designs that run on the PC102 deliver carrier-class performance with a much lower bill of materials compared to most other approaches. The PC8520 WiMAX solution provides a software-defined implementation of the 802.16-2004 physical layer (PHY) for the 256-channel orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing mode with "carrier-class reliability and performance." The reference design supports subchannelization and antenna diversity.

Further software upgrades planned for early 2005 include 802.16e for mobility, including a scalable PHY and advanced forward-error correction. The PC8218 HSDPA picocell replaces the company's previous picocell reference design and further integrates the complex Iub interface, again reducing the system bill of materials and simplifying the overall system design. Contact the company to discuss licensing costs.