CommAgility module enables complete RF to Layer 3 LTE Advanced system on one AMC card

LOUGHBOROUGH, United Kingdom, Feb. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CommAgility today announced the AMC-D24A4-RF4, a double-width Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) module with a Texas Instruments (TI) TMS320TCI6636 SoC, including an ARM® core. The AMC-D24A4-RF4 also provides two TI TMS320C6678 multicore DSPs and a Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA, as well as a flexible 4x4 RF interface. The module is aimed at LTE Advanced and 5G systems that require MIMO technologies, and enables complete RF to Layer 3 wireless basestation functionality to be implemented on a single card. The performance and flexibility make it ideal for use in test equipment, research and development, or a specialized application such as wireless surveillance.

The module's main processor is the TCI6636, which is part of TI's new KeyStone™ II generation of processors. It includes eight TMS320C66x DSP cores, as well as four ARM® Cortex® -A15 cores for higher layer processing.

Two additional C6678 octal core DSPs maximize the AMC's processing capability, with both processors closely coupled through TI's Hyperlink interface, in addition to the Serial RapidIO (SRIO) and Ethernet infrastructure of the card.

In addition to DSP and ARM processing, the card contains a large Kintex-7 FPGA for additional co-processing and to manage the RF interfaces. Kintex-7 provides an ideal compromise between size, speed and cost, and allows fitting of various FPGA sizes from K160T through to K410T.

CommAgility has ported the RF modules and capabilities of its existing AMC-RF2x2 card to the new module, keeping all the software configurable bandwidth (up to 40MHz+) and flexibility (662MHz to 3839MHz). With the new larger board, it can now support 4 RF channels for 4x4 MIMO configurations, or alternatively each pair of channels can be run at different frequencies, allowing carrier aggregation across different bands. The included RF control, management and processing firmware and software provides a high level RF control API while also leaving most of the board available for customer processing or 3^rd party stacks and applications.

Edward Young, managing director at CommAgility, said, "From RF through to Ethernet, this new module provides everything wireless OEMs need for high end LTE Advanced basestation and test equipment development, or even 5G."

"CommAgility's new AMC Module, based on our award winning TCI6636 SoC, will deliver a new standard for high performance wireless solutions to the uTCA market," said Peter Flynn, business development manager, Texas Instruments. "With the combination of four ARM cores, eight DSP cores and over 12 wireless accelerators in a single device, the TCI6636 offers a leap forward in performance and flexibility, especially integrated into a scalable uTCA system with this module."

The new module also provides a flexible range of I/O as well as the RF ports, including 3 CPRI ports, a GPS antenna interface, AMC TCLK interfaces, and Clock and Trig interfaces. For higher layer and control data, interfaces include dual Gigabit Ethernet, dual 4x SRIO and can include a 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP port to the front panel.

An alternative build option, the AMC-D24A4, provides the same processing and I/O features as the AMC-D24A4-RF4, but without the RF interface. This enables OEMs to integrate their own choice of radio, which can then be connected using CPRI. With this option, customers have the maximum flexibility to include a higher power external remote radio head, or to meet their own particular RF requirements.

The AMC-D24A4-RF4 and AMC-D24A4 are both available in Q2 2014. For pricing, please contact CommAgility.

Notes to editors:
1. High resolution photos are available at www.commagility.com/press 
2. CommAgility will be at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – please email [email protected] if you would like to arrange a meeting.

About CommAgility:
CommAgility is a leading manufacturer of signal processing AMC modules for wireless and other signal processing applications, combining flexible interfaces including analogue RF, the latest Texas Instruments DSPs and Xilinx FPGAs, and high bandwidth on and off-card communications using Serial RapidIO and Ethernet. Customers around the world use CommAgility products to develop a wide range of high performance applications, and recent designs include test equipment, trial systems and base stations for a wide range of wireless standards especially WiMAX, LTE and LTE Advanced. CommAgility was honoured with a Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2013, and has featured in the Deloitte UK Fast 50 list of fastest growing technology companies in 2012 and 2013. See www.commagility.com.

About the Texas Instruments Design Network
CommAgility is a member of the TI Design Network, a premier group of independent, well-established companies that offer products and system-level design and manufacturing services complementing TI's semiconductors to a worldwide customer base to accelerate product innovation and time-to-market. Network members provide product design, hardware and software system integration, turnkey product design, RF and processor system modules, reference platforms, software development, proof-of-concept design, feasibility studies, research, certification compliance, prototyping, manufacturing, and product life cycle management. For more information about the TI Design Network, please visit http://www.ti.com/designnetwork.

SOURCE CommAgility