FREMONT, Calif.-Consumers are accustomed to the sleek and small handsets available in the market today. But as the data revolution unfolds, the components needed to facilitate new functions threaten to increase the size of handsets.
Intarsia Corp., a radio-frequency technology integrator, believes it has come up with a solution to save microcircuit space inside handsets. The company introduced its PassPort design palette, which allows system designers to integrate numerous individual passive and semiconductor devices into a single microcircuit.
“While semiconductor technologies have facilitated higher levels of integration for active devices, the need for large numbers of supporting passive devices has increased,” said Harry Van Wickle, president and chief operating officer of Intarsia.
“For many wireless and portable computing devices, passive components represent around 80 percent of the bill of material and 60 percent of the size. PassPort provides designers the ability to integrate an unprecedented number of both passive and active functions in a single custom solution, improving the size and cost performance.”
Using PassPort, engineers can custom design, simulate and lay out thin-film glass microcircuits that range from integrated passive devices to single- or multifunction modules. To reduce design complexity and enable the system designer to simulate system and component performance, PassPort operates within the framework of the industry standard Advanced Design System from Agilent Technologies.
The company also introduced a low-noise amplifier module designed for high-performance wireless and RF applications. The module achieves the performance of a discrete design, said Intarsia, but at a fraction of the size and cost.
