Imagination Technologies launches ENSIGMA UCC Series3 architecture and UCCP310 IP platform

Multi-standard communications IP cores gain transmit, diversity, multi-context features, adding connectivity standards starting with WiFi

Las Vegas, 8th January 2009: Imagination Technologies – the leader in semiconductor System on Chip Intellectual Property (SoC IP) – announces ENSIGMA UCC Series3, the third generation of the architecture at the heart of the market leading ENSIGMA UCCP multi-standard programmable communications IP platform family, which delivers leading performance and power in a small silicon area.

Imagination’s UCC (Universal Communications Core) architecture is designed to support the increasing number of standards for communications and broadcast in a proven, highly-efficient and extraordinarily flexible architecture.

ENSIGMA UCCP310, the first IP platform to offer both connectivity and an array of the latest broadcast standards in one core, is available for licensing now.

The new UCC Series3 builds on the success of Imagination’s UCC receiver architecture, which has shipped in over 10 million units in the digital radio, TV and mobile TV markets. UCC Series3 dramatically ups the ante with the addition of a transmit path with programmable modulation, enabling full 802.11a/b/g WiFi, and other connectivity standards, to be implemented on the one core alongside all the latest broadcast TV (including emerging Chinese and US standards), mobile TV and radio standards.

With the addition of a programmable transmit path, end product developers and chipset and SoC designers now have a universal communications solution that can be dynamically reconfigured using software to support the widest range of communications channels, minimising Bill of Materials (BoM) and SKUs while ensuring maximum reconfigurability for global operation over the widest portfolio of broadcast and connectivity standards.

Other key features of the UCC Series3 architecture include the addition of multi-context support which enables a single core to process two or more different standards at the same time. For advanced multi-channel systems, multi-processor support enables UCC Series3-based systems to utilise multiple UCC cores to implement antenna diversity or flexibly mix a number of broadcast and connectivity channels to meet any device’s non-cellular connectivity requirements.

Multi-standard in one SoC
ENSIGMA UCC Series3 technology enables a full WiFi solution, supporting 802.11 a/b/g initially, followed by 802.11n. Other connectivity standards and FM-transmit are also planned for future releases.

UCC Series3’s multi-standard broadcast demodulation is extensive across TV, radio and mobile TV segments and includes full support for: Nordig unified 2.0 DVB-T, full MBRAI v2 compliant DVB-H, DAB, DAB+, T-DMB, 1/3/Full-Seg ISDB-T, ATSC 8VSB and FM with RDS. UCC Series3 further refines the error correction processor (ECP) within the UCC architecture, enabling support for emerging standards utilizing LDPC codes such as DVB-T2, CMMB and GB20600-2006. This single chip multi-standard capability, when combined with one or more of the increasing number of multi-standard silicon tuners on the market, creates opportunities for new levels of multi-standard communications subsystem integration not seen before in consumer devices.

ENSIGMA UCCP310 – UCC Series3 in action
Imagination Technologies’ ENSIGMA UCCP310 IP platform is the first IP offering based on UCC Series3, delivering support for the 802.11a/b/g family of communications standards, class-leading support for digital TV, mobile TV and digital radio reception and antenna diversity.

Within the UCCP310 platform, UCC Series3’s programmable radio technology provides physical layer demodulation and modulation. A separate 32-bit embedded controller performs system housekeeping, manages data-link processing for DVB-H and 802.11a/b/g, and distributes data using the platform’s own DMA controller.

The ENSIGMA UCCP310 platform enables a true multi-standard subsystem at very low power in a similar silicon footprint to many competing single standard solutions. It realises industry leading performance in all standards for all key parameters, such as sensitivity, noise, Doppler, and CCI. It provides a complete baseband solution having digitized signal inputs (Real or Complex) and outputs (Complex) for connection to an AFE and RF transceiver / tuner, with the option of both master and slave bus interfaces for data and control connections for ease of SoC integration.

UCC IP platforms are designed to be easily integrated into a wide range of SoCs. They are designed to be system latency tolerant, with low memory bandwidth loading and excellent power management.

About Imagination Technologies
Imagination Technologies Group plc (FTSE:IMG) – a leader in semiconductor System on Chip Intellectual Property (SoC IP) – creates and licenses market-leading embedded graphics, video, display and multi-threaded processors and multi-standard receiver technologies. These IP solutions are complemented by dynamic and extensive developer and middleware ecosystems. Target markets include mobile phone multimedia, handheld multimedia, home consumer entertainment, in-car and mobile computing. Its licensees include leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies, as well as innovative leading edge start-up and fabless semiconductor companies. Imagination has corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: www.imgtec.com.