Palma Ceia SemiDesign Tapes Out 802.11ax Transceiver for Wi-Fi 6

Uniquely Positioned to Support IoT, New Transceiver Brings 1024 QAM Modulation and OFDMA to IoT Use Model

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. -- May 04, 2020 -- Palma Ceia SemiDesign, a provider of next-generation wireless connectivity solutions, today announced it has completed an RF transceiver supporting 802.11ax, also known as Wi-Fi 6. Palma Ceia’s Wi-Fi 6 RF transceiver tape-out is a notable milestone toward launching a new product offering later this year, greatly expanding applications for products requiring Wi-Fi connectivity.

“This IP, our first for Wi-Fi 6, will be critical as we broaden our wireless chip offerings,” said Roy E. Jewell, chief executive officer of Palma Ceia SemiDesign. “It’s an industry-leading, 20-mhz, single-chip RF transceiver that will take advantage of the increased speed Wi-Fi 6 allows.”

Wi-Fi 6, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s designation for 802.11ax, is the newest version of the 802.11 standard for wireless network transmissions commonly referred to as Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6 is backward-compatible with the previous version of the Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac.

“Given how the rate of adoption of next-generation wireless connectivity has accelerated, we expect our customers will quickly find very creative applications using this new Wi-Fi 6 offering to enhance the productivity of their employees and their customers,” Jewell said.

Advantages of Wi-Fi 6

The transition to 802.11ax from 802.11ac and earlier Wi-Fi standards delivers multiple advantages, including a much higher theoretical maximum speed of 9.6 Gbps, compared to 3.5 Gbps in 802.11ac, and Orthogonal Frequency Domain Multiple Access (OFDMA), a method for encoding digital data for wireless transmission.

“Along with the speed advantage, the introduction of OFDMA technology allows routers to communicate with multiple Wi-Fi devices simultaneously, thereby reducing the negative impacts of high station density within a single network,” said James E. Flowers, co-founder and chief operating officer of Palma Ceia. “Even as more devices demand data, the connections will remain robust. Taped out for a TSMC 28nm process, the new transceiver, optimized for minimum power operation, expands the company’s offering into the Wi-Fi 6 generation.

“By virtue of targeted wake time and dual-carrier modulation, major power savings and enhanced operating distance will deliver better performance for IoT devices that do not need to operate continuously, such as long-range sensors using daily or weekly communications,” Flowers said.

Applications

Environments where the superior speed and other operating advantages are expected to be readily received include:

• Large public venues
• Transportation hubs
• Smart cities and factories
• Campus and university environments
• Home offices
• Smart homes

In addition, Palma Ceia SemiDesign offers HaLow and NB-IOT products targeting many of these same applications, and their need to operate under battery power for 10 years or more.

Availability

Performance and characterization data for the PCS Wi-Fi 6 radio will be available in June 2020. Contact information is available on the Palma Ceia SemiDesign website.

About Palma Ceia SemiDesign

Palma Ceia SemiDesign (PCS) is a leading provider of communication IP and chips for next-generation Wi-Fi and cellular applications. With a focus on emerging Wi-Fi and LTE standards, PCS targets the design of ICs for broadband, wireless, medical and automotive applications. Palma Ceia solutions are differentiated by low-power, high-performance and ease of integration. With operational headquarters in Hong Kong, the company has design centers in Cambridge (United Kingdom), Hong Kong, and McKinney, Texas (United States). Additional sales and support activities are located in greater China, Israel, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Visit Palma Ceia SemiDesign on the web at http://www.pcsemi.com.