Next Generation Services
Next gen applications and associated services will involve rich media, streaming, base band connectivity, etc. So, on one hand, they will leverage 3G, 4G, etc, while on the device side, devices will need to get powerful and functionality rich. Hence, the dependence on semiconductors is likely to increase.

According to Vadiraj R, "We could possibly see advancements where e-books can be integrated and then smartphones being utilized in that context. This obviously would require the necessary functionality from the chipset vendors."

The use of semiconductor is allowing hand-held devices to be able to support more and more applications, which clubbed with higher bandwidths are presenting greater opportunities for services providers to develop HD content, mobile based financial transactions, entertainment, etc.

"Availability of broadband data rates (due to the use of next generation semiconductors) will allow many interesting content/services for all categories of users," says Rajat Gupta, MD, Beceem Communications.

Applications will have multi-dimension advantages like-students could get access to online libraries including books, journals, and live video lectures; professionals, such as lawyers, could similarly access court judgments, and finance experts could access and transact stock markets while on the move with near-zero latencies.

"Over-the-air upgradation of features by software downloads (pushed by the operators) along with auto-installation will make it easier for operators to start new customers at a base functional level and then incrementally grow the support without a large increase in their support staff," explains Gupta.

Xilinx, a major player in the digital programmable logic device (PLD) market, is high on hopes with the Indian market. Says Fai Yeung, vice president, sales and marketing, Asia Pacific, Xilinx, "Since India still has to develop its indigenous market in designing, so perhaps the market can look at this niche segment and then an overhaul of products can take place."

Power Impact
Most of the vendors are trying to address the key issue of power consumption. Some inroads are being discovered to meet the needs of the situation. Power consumption is a relevant issue in the current scenario. Shortage of electricity and increasing concern for the environment has made customers of semiconductor companies demand energy efficient chips that support green mandates for a range of applications-from the latest automobiles, to telecom and networking.

According to Guruswamy, "Ultimately,, energy efficiency is measured against customer needs. Whether the application requires a longer battery life or needs to reduce heat dissipation, the system designers have to rely on semiconductors that meet their performance requirements without exceeding a limited energy budget."

Energy efficient products are the need of the hour. Processors like MPC8548/E offer a wide range of high-speed connectivity options. Support for these high-speed interfaces enables scalable connectivity to network processors and/or ASICs in the data plane while the MPC8548/E handles complex, computationally demanding control plane processing tasks.

Larger scale of integration into smaller geometries is allowing the reduction in overall power consumption of semiconductor devices. Thus, reducing the system level power consumptions.

Battery life has been an important consideration for a long time. Chip designers need to design circuits that consume less power not only when the device is active but also during standby mode.

"As complex semiconductor designs migrate to sub-90nm process nodes, power management becomes a serious concern across the entire design and manufacturing chain. Existing chip design techniques must be upgraded holistically to automate design techniques," suggests Arya of Cadence Design Systems.

Across the design and manufacturing chain, an urgent need has emerged for an automated, power-aware design infrastructure.

Ashok Kumar Chandak, senior director, NXP says, " The power saving and increased efficiency of power use is very important. In addition, most of the semiconductor parts used in the phone are specifically designed for the lower power consumption."

Requirements
The major requirements of mobile segments are low power and multi-mode access. The multi-mode access is a requirement that has begun to surface over the last year. Several operators with 3G (or equivalent) spectrum want to be able to offer seamless mobility across WiMax and previous generation technologies to offer customers a graceful degradation to 3G or 2.5G in locations where WiMax is still not deployed.

As the multimedia and NFC enabled handsets are increasingly being sought after, the semiconductor industry is looking to cash these opportunities. The need to support multi-mode functionality in very compact form factors, and to sustain high data rates while even at building basements or other low signal locations are another set of challenges that companies are facing.

Design at these advanced process nodes poses its own challenges such as verification, analog mixed signal integration, and DFM (design for manufacturing). Says Arya, "The graphic user interface (GUI) needs to gives access to all features of the mobile phone, and yet be user-friendly. These complex SoCs (system on a chip) are designed at advanced process nodes to enable designers pack more functionality."

"Enterprises are now warming up for the mobile applications. They are seeing value from using mobile as a channel," observes Vadiraj R. Development of application store related applications is showing traction.

Chandak of NXP says, "Most of the handsets use ARM processors. More functions are being integrated in the baseband chip, including the integration of RF and power management."

Asserts Agarwal of Lattice Semiconductor, " Smartphones are in vogue. This requires supporting chipsets to be of higher processing capability, more storage capacity, etc. Hence, the semiconductor devices that run smartphones are complicated high ASP devices as against the standard ASIC's typically used for mobile phones."

Smartphone is another category that has caught the attention of the semiconductor industry. The class of the phones needs to allow better integration of the hardware and software components. Hence the chip needs to take care of power optimization.

The value can come from productivity improvements, efficiency benefits, ease of use, and greater collaboration opportunities. As communication is transforming the country's future, the semiconductor industry is helping it to have a major leap in the coming times, to make the telecom industry remain in the best of times.

Archana Singh
archanasi@cybermedia.co.in

Page(s)   1  2