Ceva-X2 Controls Multiple PHYS – Mobile Chip Report

DSP Core Handles LTE-Advanced and 802.15.4 Protocols.
By Mike Demler (August 1, 2016).

Ceva’s new X2 DSP core performs physical-layer (PHY) control tasks in complex wireless modems. Intro-duced at the recent Linley Mobile & Wearables Conference, the design targets LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation, which requires digital basebands to simultaneously control PHYs for multiple communications channels and radio access technologies (RATs), such as a combination of small-cell and macrocell connections. The 3GPP’s LTE Release 13 and later require modem designers to support the new protocols, but they must also retain 3G and even 2G functions for fall-back in legacy networks or for voice when voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) is unavailable.