Cosmic Circuits tapes out 40nm mixed signal test chip

BANGALORE, INDIA: Cosmic Circuits, a leading provider of differentiated Analog and Mixed-Signal IP cores, announced the tape out of its TSMC 40nm mixed signal test chip.

The test chip consists of several data converters and power regulators for Wireless Communications and Portable consumer applications. A/D and D/A converters that are used in the baseband section of wireless communication chips for applications such as MIMO WLAN 802.11n and WiMAX are included in this test chip, along with the low jitter PLLs.

The A/D Converters range from 8-10 bit resolutions at 20-80 MHz sampling rate and D/A Converters’ specification are 8-bit / 20MHz and 12-bit / 160MHz. Also included are Switching and Linear Power-Regulator cores that help optimize battery life and reduce BOM cost in Portable consumer applications.

C. Srinivasan, VP of engineering at Cosmic Circuits, said: “The data converter cores are designed using a unique amplifier-less architecture that is friendly to nanometer process technologies. We continue to innovate in order to bring low- power cores that are also compact, making it suitable for Wireless MIMO applications.”

He added, “On the power regulators front, we have brought our silicon proven architecture into 40nm, including a DC-DC Switching regulator that is capable of connecting directly to a Lithium ion battery and a high performance LDO Linear Regulator suitable for powering sensitive analog circuitry.”

“This demonstrates Cosmic Circuits’s commitment to bringing complex and differentiated Analog IP cores to the market, now in cutting edge 40nm technology node” said Krishnan Ramabadran, VP of Marketing for Cosmic Circuits. “These cores address the critical need for power reduction and system cost optimization as Wireless and portable consumer markets progress to the 40nm node.

These cores, while being differentiated, have been designed keeping in mind several practical considerations that arise in SoC environment effectively addressing the end success of any SoC customer’s chip development. Specific needs to multi channel MIMO applications are catered through flexible customization.

Cosmic Circuits constantly endeavors to bring differentiated and quality Analog and Mixed-Signal IP cores to the design-community for integration on system-on-Chips. Through its portfolio of high-performance cores, the company helps its customers accelerate time-to-market, while covering the Analog integration requirements. Cosmic Circuits provides excellent support by staying engaged during the entire development cycle, through production ramp.