Pharrowtech and Renesas enable first viable fibre alternative

Renesas is the global specialist in microcontrollers, analogue, power and SoC products. Pharrowtech’s PTB-1060 integrated solution with the RWM6050 includes its PTR-1060 CMOS radio chip and the PTM-1060 antenna array module, means that the technology is now available for customer evaluation with the Renesas’ Evaluation Kit.

The chip’s integration, performance, and capabilities make it possible to realise the full potential of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) deployments, 5G and Wi-Fi infrastructure backhauling, next-gen consumer electronics products including VR, and IoT devices requiring high-speed links, all while streamlining the design process and reducing the total system cost.

Global demand for easy access to reliable, high-speed internet is growing all the time, but fibre technology has proven itself to be unsuitable for connecting everyone, everywhere, due to the expense and disruption of deployment.

What’s more, there are many fast-growing use cases requiring reliable, fibre-like data rates that cannot be cost effectively served with wired technologies. To sustain an increasing demand for gigabit per second home broadband access, and effectively support smart city deployments such as high-resolution CCTV cameras in public spaces, 60GHz connectivity offers superior performance, shorter deployment time and lower equipment cost.

Pharrowtech’s PTR-1060 chip allows telecoms providers to utilise 60GHz connectivity to realise these new use cases, without the performance drawbacks that competitor products have experienced to date.

The integrated PTR-1060 chipset supports six channels rather than just the lowest four, from 57 through to 71GHz, therefore offering significantly improved signal performance when compared to other products on the market.

Further, with up to 64QAM modulation, the chip delivers higher data rates, enabling more margin, and thus greater reliability. The inclusion of Pharrowtech’s PTM-1060 radio module (RFM) allows for a tightly integrated and optimised 8 x 8 (2 x 2cm, e.g., the diameter of an US penny) patch antenna array, meaning it can readily be integrated into end-products, taking much less surface area than competitive solutions with half the antenna paths.

The combination of Pharrowtech’s CMOS radio and Renesas’ CMOS baseband delivers the smallest physical footprint of any comparable chipset on the market, reducing board space required in the end application. This not only means that a sleeker product can be delivered, but that it will have a shorter time to market and lower cost than similar solutions.

Marco Bello, VP Product Management and Marketing, Pharrowtech, comments: “We have developed a product capable of consistently delivering fibre-like throughput without the environmental disruption or high costs associated with fibre deployments. In addition, our chip makes it possible to realise smart city applications that are simply not possible through wired solutions. Integrating our wireless evaluation board with Renesas demonstrates the maturity and robustness of our technology. Customers can trust that the quality, reliability and performance that they need for 5G CPEs and other infrastructure nodes will be delivered and can therefore begin independent evaluations with confidence.”

Pharrowtech was founded in 2019 as a spin off from imec, where the founding team led CMOS IP generation and prototype development in mmWave wireless systems for more than 15 years. To date, the company has secured more than €21m in venture capital funding from imec-Xpand, Bloc Ventures, Innovation Industries, and the KBC Focus Fund.

Pharrowtech is demonstrating its technology and available to discuss existing products at the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, NL from the 18 – 20 October 2022.