WLAN ref design enables straightforward board boot

Quantenna Communications Inc. has released a complete reference design based on its QHS600 IEEE 802.11n WLAN 4x4 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) chipset.

The QHS600 is a single-chip, 5GHz solution capable of 600Mbit/s connections that integrates baseband, media access control and four RF transceivers, along with their respective power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers and Tx/Rx switches.

However, according to David French, CEO of Quantenna, "Of more value is the digital beamforming hardware with on-chip DSP doing real-time characterization of the Wi-Fi channel to perform [signal] steering on a packet-by-packet basis." The DSP is an ARC 4 and in all there are 14 patents around this area, he added. Other features include concurrent dual-band mode and mesh networking. According to French, it should be under $10 by the end of 2010.

The newly-announced reference design kit, dubbed the QHS600x, consists of a radio GMII module connected via a mPCI connector to a host adapter board and enables straightforward board boot, bring up and program execution. It also includes integrated functions for various I/O interfaces, including gigabit Ethernet, DDR SDRAM, flash, USB 2.0 OTG, ARM JTAG debug port, GPIOs, serial port and four antenna ports.

Also included is a complete software developer's kit that implements the entire networking and device discovery/connectivity functionality required for a wireless video bridge module supporting the 802.11n standard. Additionally, Quantenna and LitePoint have worked together to provide a full test suite of specialized video-over-wireless RF calibration and performance-characterization software.

According to French, Quantenna will introduce a video bridge at CES and he sees as strong play for its technology with service providers. The company already has a deal with Swisscom, one of its backers, as well as eight other providers, unnamed as yet.

The RDK is available now, with pricing set at between $2,000 and $4,000, depending on volume.

- Patrick Mannion
Wireless Net DesignLine