3G reference design for Compact Flash and PCMCIA formats

This paper describes work done at Roke Manor Research in conjunction with Cellular3G to produce a 3G data card design suitable for use in either PCMCIA or Compact Flash formats. This design is based around Cellular 3G´s TopHat™ baseband 3G chip and a Maxim WCDMA RF Chipset. Cellular 3G have developed a baseband chip called TopHat™ in conjunction with all the required software to provide full WCDMA functionality. Roke Manor Research has provided the system design and the product development expertise to develop a data card product.. A description of the TopHat™ baseband chip is given as well as an overview of the baseband design which also discusses the implementation of power supplies. A description of the radio frequency part of the design is given which includes an analysis of the receive and transmit chains. Implementation in both PCMCIA and Compact Flash formats is discussed and a brief description of the 2.5G Compact Flash card developed by Roke Manor Research is given.