Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOGR20241011001
- Term of Validity
- 11 October 2024 - 11 October 2025
- Company's Country
- Greece
- Type of partnership
- Investment agreement
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
Contact the EEN partner nearest to you for more information.
Find my local partner
General information
- Short Summary
- A Greek fabless semiconductor company specialised in the design of custom analog, mixed-signal, RF and mmWave integrated circuits has developed a CMOS fractional-n phase-locked loop (PLL) operating in the X-band (8-10 GHz). The silicon-proven IC achieves a phase noise in the range of -120 dBc/Hz @10 GHz and 1 MHz offset. Commercial and research and development cooperation agreements are sought.
- Full Description
-
The company’s silicon-proven design is a CMOS high performance Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) with integrated voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and loop filter, designed to provide high flexibility in its use in order to adapt to a variety of applications. It covers typically the frequency range 8 – 10 GHz over variations in process, voltage and temperature (PVT), which can be scaled up/-down by using frequency multipliers/dividers, depending on the application. It requires a 40 – 320 MHz external reference and utilizes a fractional-N divider providing high frequency resolution and minimum phase noise (PN). Additional features, such as automatic VCO calibration, lock detection and frequency ramp generator for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) Radar applications, make this PLL highly functional and adaptable. In addition, an external filter and/or VCO can be used, if required. Communication with the PLL is done through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI).
This PLL is suitable for a variety of applications where a stable and clean reference signal is required, as an excitation source, a local oscillator for 5G/6G, WiFi, LTW, IoT, FWA and SATCOM wireless telecommunications (point-to-point or point-to-multipoint) or radar systems, as well as in data acquisition and instrumentation applications.
The PLL is available in the form of schematic and layout files (GDS-ready) and as a chip-scale packaged BGA component ready to be integrated into PCBs. The IC is 0.75 x 2.55 mm2. The designs can be ported to other technology nodes and can be modified to address customer requirements. Full datasheet is available upon request. Evaluation boards with a GUI are also available. - Advantages and Innovations
-
Advantages of the developed solution:
- The single chip replaces a multichip solution. It therefore reduces power consumption, PCB area, and component count.
- The developed solution has been realized in a bulk CMOS process, thus further minimizing cost.
- The design consumes less power than other mainstream solutions.
- The FMCW capability makes it an ideal solution for radar applications
Innovative aspects of the solution:
- Compact, low power and low-cost solution for a wide range of applications requiring a 8 – 10 GHz signal.
- Support of integer, fractional and FMCW modes of operation.
In addition to the above, the developed solution can be combined with other IPs of the company either in a PCB level, by combining several of the company’s manufactured silicon solutions, or in the form of GDS files for future tape-outs, to form a complete radio system in the 24-31 GHz band. - Stage of Development
- Already on the market
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- IPR status
- Secret know-how
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
- The company is looking for developers of semiconductor solutions interested in the design and manufacturing data of the PLL to create new semiconductor products based on this PLL or to integrate the PLL into larger more complex integrated circuits. The PLL can be ported to other technology nodes and can be altered to meet client specifications. The company is also looking for developers of electronic products requiring a PLL as a stand-alone component that can be integrated onto a printed circuit board design, or that require a stand-alone PLL board that can be connected to other boards.
- Type and Size of Partner
- SME <=10
- R&D Institution
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- SME 11-49
- Type of partnership
- Investment agreement
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 01006003 - Mobile Communications
- 06005002 - Sensors & Wireless products
- 01003014 - Internet Technologies/Communication (Wireless, Bluetooth)
- 01003025 - Internet of Things
- 01002001 - Micro and Nanotechnology related to Electronics and Microelectronics
- Market keywords
- 01006002 - Mobile communications, pagers and cellular radio
- 01004002 - Data communication components
- 03001001 - Semiconductors
- 03001007 - Circuit boards
- 02007005 - Communications/networking
- Sector Groups Involved
- Aerospace and Defence
- Digital
- Mobility - Transport - Automotive
- Electronics
- Targeted countries
- All countries
