Palma Ceia SemiDesign has developed a single-chip RF transceiver for 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Applications. The company is a leading provider of communication IP and chips for next-generation Wi-Fi and cellular applications. The Ceia’s Wi-Fi 6 RF transceiver tape-out is a notable milestone toward launching a new product offering later this year, greatly expanding applications for products requiring Wi-Fi connectivity.
Wi-Fi 6, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s designation for 802.11ax, is the newest version of the 802.11 standard for wireless network transmissions commonly referred to as Wi-Fi. The transition to 802.11ax from 802.11ac and earlier Wi-Fi standards delivers multiple advantages, including a much higher theoretical maximum speed of 9.6 Gbps, compared to 3.5 Gbps in 802.11ac, and Orthogonal Frequency Domain Multiple Access (OFDMA), a method for encoding digital data for wireless transmission.
According to James E. Flowers, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Palma Ceia, along with the speed advantage, the introduction of OFDMA technology allows routers to communicate with multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously, thereby reducing the negative impacts of high station density within a single network. Even as more devices demand data, the connections will remain robust. Taped out for a TSMC 28nm process, the new transceiver, optimized for minimum power operation, expands the company’s offering into the Wi-Fi 6 generation.
By virtue of targeted wake time and dual-carrier modulation, major power savings and enhanced operating distance will deliver better performance for IoT devices that do not need to operate continuously, such as long-range sensors using daily or weekly communications.
The Ceia’s Wi-Fi 6 RF transceiver is ideal for use in a wide range of applications including home offices, smart homes, smart cities university campuses etc. In addition to this product, Palma Ceia SemiDesign offers HaLow and NB-IoT products targeting many of these same applications, and their need to operate under battery power for 10 years or more. Performance and characterization data for the PCS Wi-Fi 6 radio will be available in June 2020.
