Hot topic session: RF design technology for highly integrated communication systems

The characteristics of highly integrated high-speed data-transmission-systems for near future communication standards are high mobility, low power, reliability, high performance, low cost and short development time. Recent available RF development tools do not allow the efficient design of tailored, well partitioned, highly integrated, high data rate communication systems targeting up to 6 GHz carrier frequency. Reasons for this are the missing flexibility and accuracy in the hierarchical design process from system down to physical level. In this paper, representatives of system houses, a leading EDA provider, and a silicon foundry introduce and discuss the challenges related to the specific areas. Considering the market relevance of high data rate wireless communication systems, the missing overall design technology today is a real hot topic. Suggestions on how to improve the existing situation, addressing the design technology as a whole, is discussed. Depending on the representatives perspective, converging requirements are worked out and non-converging requirements are debated in a controversial manner.