Mindspeed Technologies

Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures, develops, and sells fabless semiconductors for communications applications in wireless and wired networks.[1]

Mindspeed Technologies, Inc.
TypePublic (NASDAQ: MSPD)
IndustrySemiconductors
Electronics
FoundedJune 27, 2003
HeadquartersNewport Beach, California, United States
Key people
Raouf Y. Halim (President, CEO)
ProductsIntegrated Circuits
Wireless networks
Mobile communications
Network switches
Digital subscriber line
VoIP
crosspoint switches
FTTx
Revenue$162 million USD (2011)
-$0.76 million USD (2011)
Number of employees
550 (2012)
Websitewww.mindspeed.com

Products

Wireless

Mindspeed’s products are used in wireless infrastructure and small cell base-stations. The company's ARM-based processing solutions include low-power, multi-core digital signal processor system-on-chip (SoC) products for fixed and mobile (3G/4G) carrier infrastructure (the Transcede family) and Picochip's SoCs for 3G (HSPA) femtocells and small cells.

Mindspeed announced the Transcede family of wireless baseband processors[2] in 2010, including the single-core Transcede 3000, which serves the eNodeB processing needs of a picocell, while consuming less than 10 watts (W) of power, and the dual-core Transcede 4000, which delivers three sectors of LTE processing for macro cells serving thousands of subscribers. The Transcede 4000 integrates 26 programmable processors into a single device,[3] including two ARM® Cortex A9® multi-core symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors, 10 CEVA (digital signal processors (DSPs) and 10 DSP accelerators, enabling equipment manufacturers to fully support the complete processing needs of single- and multi-sector base stations using the WCDMA/HSPA, LTE, LTE time-division duplex (TD-LTE), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA, in China) and other air-interface standards.

The Transcede 4000 processor was honored as the Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough at the 2010 Mobile Excellence Awards.[4]

Following the acquisition of Picochip, that company's small cell SoC products are part of Mindspeed's Wireless Business Unit.

Communications convergence processing
Mindspeed Comcerto M86200G-12, used in WD My Cloud

Mindspeed’s ARM-based products include low-power, multi-core digital signal processor system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for residential and enterprise platforms (the Comcerto Product line) and carrier-grade VoIP systems.

These are embedded packet processors for a wide variety of applications ranging from high-end VoIP enabled home gateways, small-to-midsized business (SMB) security appliances to Ethernet powered 802.11n enterprise access points. The Comcerto family are based on ARM host processors.

Mindspeed announced the new generation of this family, the Comcerto 2000 in June 2012.[5]

High-performance analog

Analog products include high-density crosspoint switches, optical drivers, equalization and signal-conditioning products. The high-performance analog transmission devices and switching products support storage area network, fiber-to-the-premise, OTN and broadcast video typically operating at data transmission rates between 155 megabits per second (Mbit/s) and 10 gigabits per second (Gbit/s).

The transmission products include laser drivers, transimpedance amplifiers, post amplifiers, clock and data recovery circuits, signal conditioners, serializers/deserializers, video reclockers, cable drivers and line equalizers. These products serve as the connection between a fiber optic or coaxial cable component interface and the remainder of the electrical subsystem in various network equipment.

The switching products include a family of high-speed crosspoint switches capable of switching traffic within network switching equipment. Typical equipment applications for switching products include OTN systems, add-drop multiplexers, high-density IP switches and storage-area routers. In addition, crosspoint switches are used for broadcast video routing and production switching applications.

Wide area networking

The legacy wide-area network communications portfolio includes carrier Ethernet devices, Layer 2 processors, T-carrier and E-carrier devices and symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL) devices.

History

Mindspeed Technologies was formed from the spin-off of the Network Access division of Conexant Systems, Inc. to shareowners on June 27, 2003; creating two independent, publicly traded communications semiconductor companies.[1]

Conexant Systems was established four years earlier when Rockwell International spun off its Rockwell Semiconductor Systems (RSS) division[6] to shareholders as an independent company focused exclusively on providing semiconductor products for communications electronics. The Network Access division (which became Mindspeed) helped to develop and commercialize 56kbps client-side and central-site modem technology in the mid- to late-1990s that was used to deploy dial-up Internet access services offered by Internet service providers (ISPs).[1]

As an independent company, Mindspeed used its experience in analog and mixed-signal communications semiconductor technology to create multi-core packet-processing devices for Voice over IP (VoIP) gateways, routers and other communications systems.

In January 2012, Mindspeed acquired British company Picochip for about $52 million.[7]

After many years of being led by CEO Raouf Halim, who made disastrous decision after disastrous decision, Mindspeed was acquired by MACOM [8] and Mindspeed wireless acquired by Intel.

Manufacturing

Mindspeed is a Fabless semiconductor company. It outsources all semiconductor manufacturing to merchant foundries, such as TSMC, Samsung and others.

References
  1. "Conexant Spins Off Mindspeed". EDN. March 24, 2003. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  2. Wilson, Ron (January 26, 2010). "Mindspeed visualizes an opening in the base-station market". EDN. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  3. Merritt, Rick (August 23, 2010). "Update: Mindspeed describes 26-core basestation DSP". EE Times. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  4. "Mobile Excellence Award Winners". CisionWire. December 7, 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  5. Maxfield, Clive (6 November 2012). "Mindspeed's multi-core ARM Cortex-A-based comms processor family". EE Times. Retrieved 2012-08-30.
  6. "Conexant Begins Operations as Independent Company Following Spin-Off from Rockwell". Business Wire. January 4, 1999. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  7. Ben Rooney (6 January 2012). "Small-Cell Maker Picochip Acquired by Mindspeed". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  8. "MACOM - MACOM Successfully Completes Tender Offer for Mindspeed Technologies".

Further reading
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