Fujitsu ASIC design for 2G/3G/4G baseband processor in volume production with Synopsys 28-nm MIPI M-PHY

USA: Synopsys Inc. announced that Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited is successfully shipping a 2G/3G/4G baseband processor using Synopsys' DesignWare DigRFv4 M-PHY and DigRF 3G PHY IP.

Fujitsu Semiconductor selected Synopsys' silicon-proven IP to mitigate project schedule risks and help ensure the long-term interoperability of their ASIC design customer's system-on-chip (SoC) with Fujitsu Semiconductor's RFIC products. Integrating DesignWare IP allowed Fujitsu Semiconductor to deliver an efficient, low-power and cost-effective solution.

"Our customer's next‐generation mobile devices required low‐power, high‐bandwidth connectivity, so we needed a reliable IP solution in the required process technology that was compliant with MIPI standard specifications," said Daisuke Yamazaki, manager, design department, wireless solution division at Fujitsu Semiconductor.

"Integrating Synopsys' DesignWare DigRFv4 M‐PHY and DigRF 3G PHY IP helped ensure the successful silicon tapeout and production ramp of mobile SoCs targeting 2G/3G/4G speeds with high data rates and low power consumption."

Fujitsu Semiconductor's ASIC design services customer needed to launch its mobile platform quickly with a low-power 28-nanometer (nm) 2G/3G/4G baseband product supporting multimode, multi-band LTE, UMTS, and EDGE mobile handsets with full support for all global FDD and TDD bands.

Since both the target 28-nm process technology and the MIPI specifications were being finalized in parallel with the integration of Synopsys' M-PHY into the ASIC, Synopsys and Fujitsu Semiconductor worked closely to maintain clear and consistent communication throughout the product development cycle to ensure a successful tapeout. The engineering teams were able to identify and address differences between the DigRFv4 and DigRF 3G standard specifications, keeping the project schedule on track.

"Synopsys understands the importance of providing companies like Fujitsu Semiconductor with high-quality IP that enables them to reduce integration risk and focus internal resources on other critical parts of the design," said John Koeter, VP of marketing for IP and systems at Synopsys.

"Fujitsu Semiconductor's successful integration of the 28-nanometer DesignWare M-PHY demonstrates our commitment to delivering silicon-proven IP so that our customers can deliver innovative products to the market faster."