Impinj Inc., a fabless semiconductor company developing integrated circuit products for communication systems, today announced its first product using the company's revolutionary Self-Adaptive Silicon^TM technology. Impinj's patented approach uses transistor physics in a fundamentally new way, enabling precision analog and wideband RF in low-cost, high-density logic CMOS.

Available today, the IPJ 8114E Development Platform incorporates onto a compact PCB platform a 14-bit, 300 MSPS digital-to-analog converter (DAC) chip implemented using Self-Adaptive Silicon alongside an industry-standard FPGA. Communication system developers can code the embedded FPGA with capacity of nearly 200,000 gates to prototype a broad range of communications modulators, transmitters, or instrumentation systems. Ultimately customers can benefit from Self-Adaptive Silicon by having Impinj implement their complete mixed-signal system in an ASIC or ASSP offering.

"Impinj is delighted to offer our customers an opportunity to significantly improve the performance of their current and future generations of communications systems," said William Colleran, Ph.D., CEO of Impinj. "The IPJ 8114E with our 14-bit DAC is tangible proof of the power of Self-Adaptive Silicon, and we are very excited by customer response to its immediate applicability in a variety of applications. For the first time, designers can leverage the benefits of logic CMOS processes for high performance analog circuits and take advantage of Moore's Law for mixed-signal SOC products."

Implemented in logic CMOS at 3.3V, the Impinj 14-bit DAC offers best-in-class performance, including high sample-rate, low power dissipation and superior dynamic range as measured by both spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) and adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR). By employing proprietary analog circuit design techniques, the Impinj DAC achieves this level of performance without the need for more complex and expensive interpolation circuitry. Measured with a 3G WCDMA signal, ACPR is better than 73 dB for a 74.88 MHz output frequency sampled at 199.68 MSPS and 69 dB at a 307.2 MHz IF and 245.76 MSPS. This outstanding high-IF ACPR allows system designers to eliminate upconversion stages in multi-carrier basestation applications. Moreover, distortion specified by SFDR is 80 dB at 5 MHz output, yet remains above 70 dB to 100 MHz (with fs = 250 MSPS). Using Self-Adaptive Silicon, Impinj has developed on-chip calibration to reduce integral nonlinearity (INL) of the DAC to +/- 0.35 LSB. The result is 16 bits of accuracy in a chip that dissipates only 55 mW (at 10-mA output current drive).

Impinj, Inc., 501 North 34th Street, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98103. Tel: 206-517-5300. Web: www.impinj.com.

Impinj is a year-old company looking to claim a stake in the communications sector with its patented approach that enables circuits made with the digital CMOS process to perform precision analog and RF functions in less space using less power than standard methods. Founders Carver Mead and Chris Diorio hold 14 patents for what they call Self-Adaptive Silicon (SAS), which uses floating-gate p-channel, instead of n-channel, MOSFETs, or pFETs. This technology differs from traditional floating-gate technology since the company fabricates the floating-gate devices in standard digital CMOS with no additional process masks and MOSFETs remain fully functional transistors during memory updates, allowing the company to store precise analog values on the floating gate.

The company uses the example of a light switch that turns on and off to describe non-volatile memory and a potentiometer controlled switch for their Self-Adaptive Silicon. Obviously the SAS method allows greater control and flexibility. There are other methods out there to help shrink the size and reduce the power of the IC, but none more creative and well thought out. Impinj, which takes its name from their patented IMPact-ionized hot-electron INJection mechanism, may be new and unknown but they offer such an elegant solution to the dilemma of keeping up with Moore's Law that it will turn heads and give them the recognition for their solution to a hair-pulling dilemma.

Self-Adaptive Silicon technology according to Impinj, enables circuits that are fabricated using standard digital CMOS processes to perform precision analog and RF functions in a fraction of the space and power of competing approaches. Read more about this technique in a Self-Adaptive Silicon white paper.

The IPJ 8114E Development Platform, priced at $695 with a 20K gate FPGA and $995 with a 190K gate FPGA, is available for immediate customer shipment. For availability of mixed-signal ASIC or ASSP products using the 14-bit DAC component contact Impinj directly.