The current paradigm in signal processing calls for analog signals to be sampled and converted to digital. A Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is then used to manipulate the signals as desired. When the time comes for the signals to be transferred to analog again, digital-to-analog converters do the job. There have been strong advances in these technologies over the years, and they work well for signal processing at low and medium bandwidths.
Wireless systems are advancing, with new standards such as HSPA/LTE and WiMAX driving higher data bandwidths and spectral efficiency. The demand for ever higher bandwidths and spectral efficiency presents the need for complex signal processing at high speed and low power. The present solution calls for down-converting and sampling a signal with an analog-to-digital converter (A/D), processing it, and then converting it back to analog – processes that are becoming more expensive and power hungry as modulation complexity, bandwidth, and carrier frequencies increase. Available A/D, D/A, and DSP technology is now a bottleneck to implementing systems with higher data rates that are cost, power, and spectral efficient.
Scintera’s Gigahertz Signal ProcessingTM (GSPTM) changes the rules by enabling complex analog signal processing at high frequencies and broad bandwidths. Its solution eliminates the need for power consuming A/D conversion and digital signal processing. Implemented in standard CMOS, Scintera’s platform performs complex analog signal processing in line with the RF carrier frequency. GSP picks up where current DSP technology leaves off, with a completely new way of solving high frequency and complex signal processing problems at lower power levels and with less complexity -- and, at a lower cost.