CSR selects Virage memory IP for wireless ICs

-- Test & Measurement World, 5/8/2008 9:00:00 AM

CSR of Cambridge, UK, a designer and manufacturer of single-chip wireless devices, has licensed Virage Logic’s semiconductor intellectual property (IP) to enable its next-generation Bluetooth and Wireless LAN (WiFi) ICs. CSR will use Virage’s Area, Speed, and Power (ASAP) Memory; Self-Test and Repair (STAR) Memory, and STAR Yield Accelerator products for the design of its BlueCore and UniFi product lines.

“Our wireless IC designs demand efficiencies in power consumption, silicon area utilization, and yield, and our commitment to product quality obligates the highest test and repair coverage available,” said Nick Salter, VP, IC Integration, CSR. “Virage Logic’s silicon-proven memory IP portfolio allows us the flexibility to perform tradeoffs between test time, area, and state-of-the-art diagnostics resulting in optimized product implementation. With Virage Logic, we avoid potential delays associated with memory functionality and yield, particularly on new silicon processes.”

For next-generation Bluetooth product offerings, CSR is using Virage Logic ASAP memories at 90 nm and will migrate to 65 nm, where Virage Logic has developed a customized ultra-high-density ROM compiler to address unique application requirements.

CSR has also adopted Virage’s yield enhancement and silicon debugging tools to effectively bridge the gap between design and manufacturing disciplines and maximize yield. The STAR Yield Accelerator enables automated ATE vector generation, user-programmable algorithms, silicon analysis, fault isolation to physical coordinates, and classification to be used at the critical semiconductor tape-out, bring-up, and volume manufacturing stages.

“We are very pleased to be selected as the trusted IP partner for a market-leading company like CSR, whose ICs are integrated into the majority of Bluetooth devices on the market today,” said Brani Buric, VP, Product Marketing and Strategic Foundry Relationships, Virage Logic. “With this partnership, Virage Logic’s IP solutions will provide CSR with critical design and manufacturing advantages as they extend their market dominance through a new generation of Bluetooth and WiFi devices.”

Virage Logic, www.viragelogic.com.