imec green radios

Cutting-edge R&D

  • Cognitive reconfigurable radios for tomorrow’s intelligent, multi-standard terminals. Imec works on front-end, baseband and spectrum sensing solutions in deep-submicron digital CMOS technology.
  • Mm-wave (60GHz) radios open up new application areas by exploiting unused frequency bands for Gbit/s communication at short range, hereby also potentially reducing the electromagnetic radiation in various access scenarios. Imec focuses on CMOS transceivers and SiP (systems-in-package) technologies for multiple antenna solutions.
  • Ultralow-power radios for use in tomorrow’s ubiquitous wireless transducer systems, such as wireless sensors in intelligent buildings, machinery or body area networks.

What we offer

Imec offers a variety of business solutions and dynamic interaction models. These range from research collaboration at various levels of scope and depth to license agreements and transfer of IP and building blocks. Deliverables may include system-level models and exploration, design databases for IP components, and complete transceivers, processor and compiler solutions, design flows and approaches, case studies, and consultancy.

In imec’s collaborative research model, companies join the research programs based on a model where the cost, the risk, and the results are shared amongst the partners, giving them access to a large pool of IP at only a fraction of the cost. Typically, resident engineers from the partner companies join the research teams at imec to jointly develop new IP.

Potential partners

Imec teams up with companies across the value chain of the electronic devices market. Some use imec’s know-how and prototypes to accelerate the development of their next-generation ICs. Others primarily want to get early access to system demonstrators to start the development of breakthrough end-user products before the commercial ICs for these products are available.

Target companies are:

  • IDMs, fablite, and fabless companies
  • EDA vendors
  • Baseband platform and processor suppliers
  • Dedicated modem vendors
  • Error coding vendors
  • Baseband software providers
  • Hearing aid companies
  • Biomedical BAN vendors
  • Consumer BAN vendors
  • Active RFID & RTLS providers

Why imec?

Imec has pioneered low-cost, lowpower, breakthrough wireless system solutions for over 15 years in the area of satellite communication, GPS, WLAN-OFDM, MIMO, turbo coding and software defined radio, and has transferred this technology to numerous companies for commercialization.

For over 20 years, imec has developed innovative design technologies for wireless systems. These technologies have been adopted by several industrial players and have led to the creation of several spin-off companies.