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dab_lp

dab_lp

Summary

A channel demodulator and decoder IC for Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB), called DABchic, has been designed by Philips. This IC has a great relevance for near future markets in the digital automotive and handheld DAB terminal segment. IMEC has developed a unique low power system exploration methodology (ATOMIUM), that concentrates on algorithm and architecture transformations at a high abstraction level, and which will be applied to this application. The result will be an alternative architecture, which will be analysed by comparing the power consumption of the new design with the existing one. The power dissipation should be reduced by at least a factor of three. The direct result will be a low-power architecture to be used later in the next generation DAB channel decoder IC, marketed by Philips Semiconductors. The analysis of the result will lead to a further improvement of the ATOMIUM methodology and the supporting system exploration tools. That methodology will be used in the future for IC-architecture designs. In this consortium IMEC delivers the methodology so it becomes available for the Philips design centres. IMEC on the other hand improves the methodology by using the industrial experience.

Objectives

An existing state of the art system-level low-power IC design methodology, ATOMIUM, has been developed by IMEC. This methodology will be used on a channel demodulator and decoder IC for Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB).

The main results of this project will be:

A DAB channel decoder architecture with reduced power consumption;

Proof of the impact of the ATOMIUM methodology;

Refined and extended ATOMIUM methodology and supporting tools

Participants

Philips (NL), Imec (b)

Design Story

Public Deliverables