Achieved 50% efficiency through compatibility with Xilinx's next-generation CFR and DPD IP and NXP Gen9 RF power transistors.

Xilinx Korea (Country Manager Ahn Heung-sik) November 25, 2014 – Xilinx announced that it has reduced CapEx and OpEx costs for wireless infrastructure radios in partnership with NXP Semiconductors. Xilinx and NXP Semiconductors are working to ensure that customers can quickly and easily integrate Xilinx’s latest CFR (crest factor reduction) and DPD (digital pre-distortion) SmartCORE™ IP with NXP Semiconductors’ Gen9 LDMOS RF high-efficiency power amplifier technology. The combination of NXP Semiconductors’ advanced power amplifier devices with Xilinx’s all-programmable devices and radio IP enables customers to implement smaller, lighter, and highly reliable radios suitable for next-generation wireless infrastructure equipment.

Christophe Cugge, Marketing Director for Base Station Power Amplifiers at NXP Semiconductors, stated, “Such industrial collaboration is crucial for reducing CapEx and OpEx costs for next-generation cellular infrastructure radios,” adding, “This collaboration has enabled us to offer solutions with superior unit efficiency at a lower cost and with higher reliability.”

High-efficiency power amplifiers enable CapEx reduction through lower power ratings and reduced cooling structures while achieving the same radio output power. Xilinx’s Zynq®-7000 All Programmable SoC is the first hardware-software programmable device to support the latest 10.1 Gbps CPRI and JESD204B with a 12.5 Gbps line rate. This Zynq device can integrate advanced signal processing algorithms such as CRF and DPD with ARM® processor-based control plane software, making it suitable for remote radio, distributed antenna systems, and repeater products. Additionally, thanks to a smaller heat sink, designers looking to implement digital radio systems on a single chip can reduce the complexity and weight of the power supply.

Xilinx's latest CFR and DPD IP support radio bandwidths of up to 100 MHz in single RAT configurations. Additionally, it supports MC-GSM, including frequency hopping up to 75 MHz, in single or multi-RAT configurations. When used in conjunction with RF power transistors from NXP Semiconductors' Gen9 family, which are designed for efficient, high-performance LTE basestations, Xilinx radio IP enables customers to implement advanced radio architectures quickly with minimal resources. It also enables power amplifier efficiencies of up to 50% at 2.6 GHz.

David Hawke, Director of Wireless Communications at Xilinx, stated, “Xilinx and NXP Semiconductors will continue to collaborate on standards for future technologies such as LTE-A and 5G. We also plan to further expand the effectiveness of this system by combining radio algorithms and power amplifier technologies in the most efficient and simple way.”

NXP Semiconductor's Gen9 RF Power Transistor

NXP Semiconductor's Gen9 family of RF power transistors is specialized for small, efficient, high-performance LTE base stations. Building on the outstanding reputation established by the previous LDMOS generation, Gen9 achieves unprecedented efficiency and excellent linearity in RF power amplifiers at industry-leading price points. This groundbreaking device further enhances the performance of LMDOS transistors and demonstrates 5% higher efficiency in Doherty applications.

Usage period

Xilinx's PC-CFR V6.0 SmartCORE IP solution is available to early registrants, with general release scheduled for January 2015. Xilinx's DPD V7.0 SmartCORE IP is also available to early registrants, with general release also scheduled for January 2015. (For more information, please refer to www.xilinx.com/applications/wireless-communications/index.htm and www.xilinx.com/esp/wireless/refdes_listing.htm )