- Xilinx manufactures programmable chips that are generally used in base stations
- Samsung has been trying to build a business in the network equipment industry for quite sometime now
- Xilinx’s biggest R&D center is located in Hyderabad, India
USA-based semiconductor firm Xilinx has announced that the Xilinx Versal adaptive compute acceleration platform (ACAP) will be utilized by Samsung Electronics for worldwide 5G commercial deployments. Xilinx Versal ACAPs, as the company said, provide a universal, flexible and scalable platform that can address multiple operator requirements across multiple geographies.
“Samsung is a trailblazer when it comes to 5G innovation and we are excited to play an essential role in its 5G commercial deployments. Versal ACAPs will provide Samsung with the superior signal processing performance and adaptability needed to deliver an exceptional 5G experience to its customers now and into the future,” said Liam Madden, executive vice president and general manager, Wired and Wireless Group, Xilinx.
Xilinx manufactuers programmable chips that are generally used in base stations. Companies like Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia usually develop these base stations. The company, following restrictions by US, cannot do business with Huawei.
Beamforming for increase in 5G network capacity
5G, as per the company, requires beamforming, which allows multiple data streams to be transmitted simultaneously to multiple users using the same spectrum. This is what enables the dramatic increase in 5G network capacity. Korea-bases Samsung will be using Xilinx’s Versal computing chips for the same.
It is to be noted here that Samsung has been trying to build a business in the network equipment industry for quite sometime now. These chips might be one more step in that direction.
“Samsung has been working closely with Xilinx, paving the way for enhancing our 5G technical leadership and opening up a new era in 5G. Taking a step further by applying Xilinx’s new advanced platform to our solutions, we expect to increase 5G performance and accelerate our leadership position in the global market,” said Jaeho Jeon, executive vice president and head of R&D, Networks business, Samsung Electronics.
Xilinx has already started shipping first Versal ACAP devices to early access customers. The company said these will be generally available in the Q4 2020 time frame.
