Rafael Micro Licenses Cadence Tensilica Fusion F1 DSP for Low-Power NB-IoT Modem IC

Fusion F1 DSP provides a low-power, cost-effective solution for cellular NB-IoT modems

SAN JOSE, Calif. --- Jun 27, 2018 -- Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced that Rafael Micro, a leading global provider of silicon tuners, has licensed the Cadence^® Tensilica^® Fusion F1 DSP for its RT580 narrowband (NB) internet of things (IoT) modem IC, which integrates RF radio and includes necessary firmware support. The Fusion F1 DSP allowed Rafael Micro to implement its modem with 36 percent lower power and 45 percent smaller code size compared to a competitive processor they also evaluated. In addition, the Fusion F1 DSP’s flexible architecture makes it easier to update and upgrade to meet future NB-IoT standards.

“Rafael Micro’s IoT connectivity business unit focuses on developing modem radio ICs and IP for Bluetooth 5.0 Low Energy, Sub G (ISM band) and NB-IoT. In order to be competitive in the NB-IoT market, we carefully evaluated the most suitable processing engine for use in our new RT580 modem,” said Ted Sun, CEO of Rafael Micro. “Cadence’s Fusion F1 DSP met our specific requirements for minimum code size under lower operating frequency.”

“Rafael Micro’s RT580 modem will deliver customers the low cost and long battery life demanded by cellular IoT applications,” said Gerard Andrews, product marketing director for Tensilica products at Cadence. “By leveraging the efficient architecture of the Fusion F1 DSP, Rafael Micro can deliver a very flexible solution adaptable to evolving standards while maintaining the very low power consumption required by IoT applications.”

Based on the highly configurable Xtensa^® processor architecture, the Fusion F1 DSP offers low-energy, high-performance control and signal processing for a variety of IoT and wearable applications, including software-based GPS. The Fusion F1 DSP is very efficient at running NB wireless communications standards typically associated with IoT device communications, including protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread and Zigbee using IEEE 802.15.4, SmartGrid 802.15.4g, Wi-Fi 802.11n and 802.11ah, 2G and LTE Category 0 release 12, 13 and 14, and global navigation satellite systems. More information on the Tensilica Fusion DSP family can be found at www.cadence/go/NBIoTmodem.

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