To make the development of more competitive mobile WiMax terminals easier, Fujitsu Microelectronics Asia Pte Ltd is launching a mobile WiMax chipset optimized for mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs, the company said today.

 

The chipset includes a baseband LSI, MB86K22; an RF LSI, MB86K52; and a power management LSI, MB39C316, according to the company.

 

Key features of the mobile WiMax chipset include MB86K22, a fully integrated baseband LSI built using Fujitsu Microelectronics 65nm advanced CMOS low-leakage process technology. The entire mobile WiMax module consumes only 0.5mA and extends battery life, company officials say, since its power-gating technology shuts down the power supply in unused blocks inside the device.

 

The next-generation Mobile WiMax technology will be deployed in the United States, Europe and Taiwan this year, according to the company, and the same will be installed in Taiwan next year. As the simultaneous development of portable devices, smart phones, PDAs, portable games and navigation systems supporting the Mobile WiMax technology, the initial service will be provided through PC-based mobile broadband access, company officials say.

 

Covering nearly all the frequencies set by the WiMax Forum, MB86K52 supports 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz, according to the company. This enables mobile WiMax terminal manufacturers to introduce their WiMax devices globally. MB86K52 also supports MIMO and beam-forming technology, which is essential for mobile WiMax Wave 2, company officials say.

 

By switching to a one-cell battery, MB39C316 power management LSI is expected to get rid of all the complex and time-consuming power management requirements, company officials say. The design minimizes the number of external peripheral devices of a module. Keeping the power consumption in every operation to the minimum, MB39C316 controls and manages the power schemes of a module at the system level, company officials say.

 

“This highly integrated WiMax chipset features the low-power and small-form factor essential to the development of attractive mobile WiMax terminal products,” said Makoto Awaga, a general manager at Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited in Japan. “Fujitsu Microelectronics has assumed a global leadership position in WiMax business development, and we have been working with different module vendors to meet market demand.”