To perform research on 45nm RF transceivers targeting Gbit/s cognitive radios, Tokyo-based semiconductor supplier Renesas Technology has entered into a strategic research collaboration with IMEC. It has joined the Belgian nanoelectronics and nanotechnology research centre's software-defined radio (SDR) front-end programme.

This research includes reconfigurable RF solutions, high-speed/low-power analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and new approaches to digitise future RF architectures, IMEC and Renesas said.

To bolster development of future mobile electronics products, Renesas said it will place researchers onsite at IMEC to closely collaborate with the research team there.

In the near term, IMEC said its SDR-front-end programme targets the development of a new generation cost-, performance- and power-competitive reconfigurable radio in 45nm digital CMOS technology. It will contain a programmable centre frequency from 100MHz to 6GHz and programmable bandwidth from 100kHz to 40MHz to cover key communication standards, with a merit comparable to state-of-the-art single mode transceivers.

IMEC also noted that the research programme builds on its previous 130nm RF transceiver results, namely, what it believes is the world's first prototype of a true SDR transceiver IC. Also, further evolutions of IMEC's ADCs will be developed within this collaboration.

"The ability to develop an innovative RF architecture with scaled-down CMOS technology and circuit technologies in transceiver products supporting next-generation cellular standards such as 3GPP-LTE and 4G's is one of the key differentiators for our products that are superior in cost advantages, performance and power," Masao Nakaya, board director and executive general manager of LSI product technology unit at Renesas, said in a statement.

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor - Electronic News