CEVA and Antcor Announce Low Power, Wi-Fi 802.11ac Reference Architecture for the New CEVA-XC4000 DSP Architecture Framework

Software-based architecture provides customers complete flexibility to address any 802.11 derivative, including yet-to-be ratified 802.11ac

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 21, 2011 – CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA); (LSE: CVA), the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores and CEVA-XCnet partner Antcor S.A., a leading provider of software baseband IP for the communications and connectivity chip industry, announced today a new software-based, reference architecture targeting multi-mode Wi-Fi 802.11ac mobile stations (STA). With the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard yet-to-be ratified, and numerous other derivatives including 802.11af, 802.11p and Wi-Fi Direct, this software-based approach enables complete flexibility to address changes in the standard and support for various use-cases through software updates. Based on the new CEVA-XC4000 DSP architecture framework, this scalable Wi-Fi reference architecture is ideal for cost-efficient, ultra-low power applications, requiring as small as 1.5 sqmm die area at a 28nm process.

Eran Briman, vice president of marketing at CEVA stated, “The advent of the 802.11ac standard poses new challenges for the development of multi-standard, high performance Wi-Fi enabled SoCs. The processor requirements to deliver this increased performance are exponentially higher and existing hardwired design approaches for multi-standard Wi-Fi solutions are no longer efficient. Our new CEVA-XC4000 based 802.11ac reference architecture designed in collaboration with CEVA-XCnet partner Antcor easily addresses these performance requirements, and provides full flexibility to support the 802.11ac standard and any other Wi-Fi standard, in software. This high performance reference architecture is an example of the versatility of our new CEVA-XC4000 DSP series to address any advanced communication standard in software.”

The Wi-Fi 802.11ac reference architecture addresses both the PHY and Lower-MAC layers in software with minimal hardware acceleration, to deliver outstanding performance without compromising on power consumption. The solution supports the full channel bandwidth up to 160MHz and offers maximal throughput of 867Mbps using a 4x2 MIMO beam-forming with 256-QAM modulation support, and can be scaled to support up to 1.7Gbps. The reference architecture supports a wide range of Wi-Fi standards, including 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, providing customers with ample headroom to add additional features and functionality on the same platform and further differentiate their product offering.

“The plethora and continuous evolvement of Wi-Fi standards dictates a new silicon design approach that will enable semiconductor companies to reduce development time, minimize risk and also extend product’s life-cycle,” said Costas Meimetis, CEO at Antcor. ”We are excited to collaborate with CEVA to address this trend by offering a unique software-based multi-standard Wi-Fi solution. This solution leverages the expertise we have accumulated with previous commercial success with Wi-Fi products. The CEVA-XC4000 processor series is capable of supporting even the most demanding communication standards and proves to be an excellent fit with our PHY and Lower-MAC software offerings. Our combined reference architecture allows customers to address any 802.11ac use case from smartphones through to Wi-Fi access points.”

Streamlined Software Development

The Wi-Fi 802.11ac reference architecture is supported by CEVA-Toolbox™, a complete software development environment, incorporating Vec-C™ compiler technology for advanced vector processors, enabling the entire architecture to be programmed in C-level. An integrated simulator provides accurate and efficient verification of the entire system including the memory sub-systems. In addition, CEVA-Toolbox includes libraries, a graphical debugger, and a complete optimization tool chain named CEVA Application Optimizer. The Application Optimizer enables automatic and manual optimization applied in the C source code.

Availability

CEVA and Antcor’s Wi-Fi 802.11ac reference architecture is available today for lead customers. For more information, contact sales@ceva-dsp.com.

About Antcor S.A.

Founded in 2004, Antcor S.A. is a leading provider of software baseband IP for the communications and connectivity chip industry. Antcor’s software Wi-Fi IP portfolio allows chip vendors to reduce development time, minimize risk and future-proof their designs. For more information, visit www.antcor.com.

About CEVA, Inc.

CEVA is the world’s leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) DSP cores and platform solutions for the mobile handset, portable and consumer electronics markets. CEVA’s IP portfolio includes comprehensive technologies for cellular baseband (2G / 3G / 4G), multimedia (HD video, Image Signal Processing (ISP) and HD audio), voice over packet (VoP), Bluetooth, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Serial ATA (SATA). In 2011, CEVA's IP was shipped in over 1 billion devices, powering handsets from 7 out of the top 8 handset OEMs, including Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony and ZTE. Today, more than 40% of handsets shipped worldwide are powered by a CEVA DSP core. For more information, visit www.ceva-dsp.com.