China Mobile Limited released China's first reconfigurable 5G RF transceiver chip - "Breaking Wind 8676" - on Aug 30, 2023. The chip can be widely used in core 5G network equipment, such as in cloud base stations, pico base stations, and home base stations, marking a significant breakthrough from zero to one and fills the domestic gap in this field. It effectively enhances China's self-reliance on 5G network core equipment.
Similar to an interpreter, the RF transceiver is responsible for the high-speed conversation between analog signals and digital signals, and serves as a critical component in 5G network equipment. It has high threshold for research and development and is in urgent demand in industrial application.
China Mobile Limited, taking on a leading role in the modern mobile information industry chain, established a joint chip development laboratory in 2021 to conduct research and development on the Breaking Wind 8676 reconfigurable 5G RF transceiver chip. This involved the entire process, from chip specification definition, to front-end and back-end design, simulation verification, performance tuning, and complete system integration.
China Mobile Limited releases China's first reconfigurable 5G RF transceiver chip "Breaking Wind 8676," on Aug 30. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Leveraging its profound understanding of communication networks and network equipment, China Mobile Limited developed the chip's specifications based on its self-developed industry-leading RF dual simulation platform. This tailored approach laid an important foundation for the chip's large-scale application.
To adapt to the requirements of multi-frequency bands, multi-modes, and multi-stations, the research team at the China Mobile Research Institute proposed a reconfigurable design, allowing for the reconfiguration of core specifications, module algorithms, and functionalities.
By optimizing its design and functions, the chip's innovative system integration offsets its shortage in single-point performance, resulting in a product that reaches the international advanced level and maintains a competitive advantage at a low cost, with low power consumption, and increased versatility.
Throughout research and development, China Mobile Limited collaborated with equipment manufacturers and chip design companies and changed the chip development process from the traditional linear model of chip design, with complete system integration and network applications, to a parallel model incorporating the requirements of network application and equipment in advance.
This nearly halved the time required for chip-to-system integration, solved the challenge of reluctance and hesitation in application, and significantly improved the development effectiveness of key chips.
In addition, the approach accelerated complete system integration and network application iterations, with a closed-loop development system featuring chip selection, development and use being formed.
So far, the Breaking Wind 8676 chips have been integrated into the equipment of several leading partners, and it will play a vital role in the next 5G commercial network equipment, such as in cloud base stations, pico base stations, and home base stations, with low cost and high controllability.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
