As a cable-replacement technology, Bluetooth remains popular. Yet it has been hindered by limits in cost, power, and designer expertise. Synopsys, Inc. hopes to solve this problem by enabling designers to quickly add Bluetooth capability to system-on-a-chip (SoC) designs. The DesignWare BlueIQ Core effectively offloads the host CPU of all real-time Bluetooth activity. It provides an intelligent integrated subsystem that includes baseband-controller hardware and link-manager software running on an industry-standard microcontroller.

The DesignWare BlueIQ provides a complete environment for SoC designers. It includes VHDL and Verilog RTL source code for the baseband, as well as C-language source code for the link-manager firmware. It also houses a complete verification environment. The BlueIQ Core connects to the host CPU via a standard UART interface. It is compatible with any qualified Bluetooth high-level stack and application profiles.

This Bluetooth solution was partitioned to offer advantages that scale with semiconductor technology improvements. The digital portion of the Bluetooth system can be accommodated in the latest processes. In addition, specialized Bluetooth RF functionality is implemented in the radio modem. Baseband processing is performed by an embedded 6811-compatible, 8-b microcontroller that handles all real-time Bluetooth activity. It thereby reduces the load and power consumption of the host CPU, which is often a 32-b processor running at a higher frequency.

By placing the baseband controller and radio modem into a "sleep mode" during periods of inactivity, the BlueIQ Core optimizes power consumption. Additional digital-logic power savings can be achieved with synthesis tools.

The Synopsys DesignWare BlueIQ Core is available now. DesignWare licensees wanting to evaluate the core may download Design View by visiting www.synopsys.com/dwrequest. The Implementation View, which contains source code necessary for implementing the core, is licensed separately.

Synopsys, Inc.
700 E. Middlefield Rd., Mountain View, CA 94043; (650) 584-5000, www.synopsys.com.