VLSI in mobile communications

In recent years, the demand for mobile operation of all types of electronic systems has become significant. It seems that by merely providing the same functionality of a desktop system in a mobile unit, a significant market advantage can be obtained for virtually any electronic function. Consumer electronics companies have been highly successful by creating portable televisions, video tape recorders and compact disk players, as well as, cordless phones-with limited mobile access for voice communications-and cellular phones for virtually unlimited access. Simultaneously laptops, notebooks and palmtops are becoming the fastest growing types of computer products. In the future, a number of portable products will emerge to satisfy consumer demands for mobile communications of voice, computer data and video with much higher capacity, quality and bandwidth than is currently available. This paper examines the system design, integrated circuits and node architectures that will be needed to enable such products. Common design principles for achieving low-power and high performance will be presented.