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Cadence, IBM and Rising Collaborate to Enable Leading-Edge SCDMA/GSM RF IC Transceiver; Dual-Mode Transceiver Targeted at China's Growing SCDMA Wireless Market

Posted on: Friday, 4 February 2005, 00:00 CST

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN) (Nasdaq:CDN) and Rising Microelectronics Co., Ltd. today announced that Rising has started sampling a SCDMA/GSM dual mode (1.8GHz SCDMA and 900MHz GSM) radio frequency integrated circuit (RF IC) transceiver. The transceiver was designed using the Cadence(R) Virtuoso(R) custom design and Encounter(TM) digital IC design platforms, and implemented on IBM's leading-edge 0.18um BiCMOS 7WL process and process design kit (PDK) developed and qualified by IBM for Virtuoso technologies.

The SCDMA/GSM transceiver is targeted at China's growing SCDMA wireless phone market, which is projected to increase from 3 million customers in 2005 to more than 20 million users by 2007. SCDMA, developed by Datang Telecom Group and Xinwei Telecom in China, has been installed in six provinces and cities, and is the only locally developed wireless communications system in China.

"We believe this transceiver is the first SCDMA transceiver designed by a Chinese company, and the only one in the world that can be used for both SCDMA and GSM dual mode handsets," said Chen Jianci, vice president of marketing at Rising. "The transceiver shows our abilities to deliver high-quality work and achieve first-time silicon success at advanced process technology nodes. By collaborating with wireless leaders such as Cadence and IBM, we can design cost-effective, leading-edge products, such as RF IC transceivers, for our customers in China."

"Cadence is pleased to collaborate with other leaders throughout the design chain to create innovative solutions that address the industry's most challenging issues, such as low-power wireless design," said Wayne Tang, general manager, Cadence China. "Rising's first-time silicon success for its dual mode, RFIC transceiver demonstrates how collaborative solutions between Cadence and IBM are crucial for bringing new products to market on time."

"Our SiGe BiCMOS and RF CMOS processes are ideal for cost-sensitive wireless and RF applications," said Tom Reeves, vice president, Semiconductor Products and Solutions, IBM Systems & Technology Group. "By combining these processes with our state-of-the-art PDKs qualified for the Cadence Virtuoso platform, we can enable customers such as Rising to build wireless and RF products with first-time silicon success."

Using the Encounter and Virtuoso platforms, Rising performed the design work for its SCDMA/GSM transceiver, from front-end circuit design and system simulation to final layout design and test. Rising used key technologies from the Virtuoso platform, including Virtuoso Spectre(R) Circuit Simulator and Virtuoso Spectre RF Simulation Option, for fast, accurate simulations of its RF and high-frequency ICs. Rising also used the IBM PDKs to link leading IBM process technologies with the Virtuoso platform, accelerating the design of silicon-accurate RF applications.

The SCDMA/GSM transceiver consists of integrated low noise amplifier (LNA), mixer, receiver AGC, transmitter VGA, VCO and PLL, low pass filter (LPF) and digital block, all in a QFN56 package. With a chip size of only 8 X 8 X 0.9 mm, the transceiver is powered by two sources with low power consumption and cost.

About Cadence

Cadence is the world's largest supplier of electronic design technologies and engineering services. Cadence products and services are used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking equipment, telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and other electronics based products. With approximately 4,900 employees and 2004 revenues of approximately $1.2 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and trades on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol CDN. More information is available at www.cadence.com.

About Rising

Rising Micro Electronics Co., Ltd. was founded in 2003 as a high-tech company specializing in the design, testing and packaging of mixed signal radio frequency integrated circuits (RF IC), and mainly funded by the Guangdong Rising Asset Management Co., Ltd. The headquarters and Chinese design center is located in Guangzhou Tianhe Hi-Tech Park, and the overseas design facility is located in Southern California, USA. Rising has about 50 employees and most of the design engineers have PhD or MS degrees. The key design engineers have 10 to 15 years design experience in the RFIC design area. At present, Rising is focusing on communication IC chip set design and development, including both wireless and wired communication systems.

Rising uses world leader IBM's most advanced Silicon Germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS technology, which is used worldwide in RF IC design. Rising has a very good relationship with, and is fully supported by IBM. With IBM's SiGe BiCMOS technology, Rising is able to design the best RFIC chip sets for the customers in China. All products of Rising are guaranteed with complete copyright and patterns, and will establish a complete IP library for RF IC design in communication systems. More information about Rising's products and services is available at http://www.rising-ic.com.

Cadence the Cadence logo, Virtuoso, and Spectre are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Encounter is a trademark of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

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