Implementation options for WCDMA

This paper discusses the design tradeoffs and implementation options for building wideband CDMA systems. System on a chip (SOC) solutions have a range of implementation options, from processor cores to custom ASIC (or a mix of both), to satisfy the extremely challenging requirements of the digital baseband of a next generation wireless system. Additionally, good designs should have a roadmap that will take advantage of rapid improvements in process technology. This paper describes the use of coprocessors alongside DSPs to meet the demanding computational requirements of WCDMA. We show that a coprocessor based design still achieves reasonably efficient area and power use, maintains a high degree of programmability and has a good technology migration path.