PMC-Sierra introduced its first WiMAX RF IC solutions for Femtocell base stations, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), and Mobile Station designs. 
The PM8800 WiZIRD 2Tx/2Rx features a full 2Tx/2Rx Multiple In/Multiple Out (MIMO) capability to support a maximum downlink data rate of 63 Mbps per sector and a peak uplink data rate of 28 Mbps per sector in a 10 MHz channel. The PM8800's Multi-Band capability (2.3-2.7 GHz and 3.3-3.8 GHz) allows a single design to cover all popular licensed radio spectra worldwide. The 2Tx/2Rx's full MIMO capability will enable Wave2+ Mobile Stations with higher uplink and downlink data rates compared to first generation WiMAX CPE. The same RF IC device can be used in both Femtocell base station and subscriber station designs.
Additional capabilities of the PM8800 WiZIRD 2Tx/2Rx include:
- up to 64QAM QPSK modulation for both Tx and Rx paths at 0dBm output power level
- Low-power dual-receivers and dual-transmitters;
- Dual-band transceiver covering the 2.3-2.7 GHz and 3.3-3.8 GHz spectra;
- Direct-conversion ZIF design;
- Support for 802.16e-2005 and 802.16-2004 IEEE standards;
- Configurable channel bandwidths of 3.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 7 MHz, 8.75 MHz, 10 MHz, 14 MHz and 20 MHz;
- Integrated DCXO supports AFC with no external components;
- Flexible baseband device interface options: digital parallel I/Q interface (JEDEC JESD207) or analog I/Q;
- Integrated analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters;
- * Integrated transmitter baluns; and
- Integrated hardware support for calibration.
The PM8801 WiZIRD 1Tx/2Rx integrates a single transmit and two receive radio paths, as well as Multi-Band support, and is designed for WiMAX Wave2 subscriber equipment such as CPE and laptop devices.
The WiZIRD family is powered by PMC-Sierra's "Extend Range, Rate and Roaming Architecture" (EXTRRRA), which enables WiMAX service providers to expand coverage areas with minimum capital expenditure, increase the data rate using full 2Tx/2Rx MIMO capability, and support global roaming. Both devices are sampling now.
PMC-Sierra also announced a collaboration with Sequans Communications, a leading WiMAX baseband chip supplier, to integrate its WiZIRD RF IC family with Sequans' advanced SQN1130 and SQN2130 subscriber station and base station chips.
The companies said their collaboration has yielded best-of-breed Mobile WiMAX product designs, including Multi-Band CPE, Femtocell, and Mobile Station.
http://www.pmc-sierra.com
