Integrated Device Technology (IDT), a provider of mixed signal semiconductor products has unveiled its Serial RapidIO Gen2 program consisting of a comprehensive portfolio of IP, switches, evaluation platforms and tools. At the same time, IDT has revealed that its Serial RapidIO Gen2 endpoint Intellectual Property (IP) has been selected by Texas Instruments (TI) for use in its wireless optimised digital signal processors (DSPs).

IDT said that the Serial RapidIO Gen2 program builds on its portfolio of version 1.3 products and tools, which are in volume production shipments in WiMAX, HSPA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, video and military applications.

The combination of the IDT Serial RapidIO Gen2 products with the TI’s DSPs provide a turnkey product for interoperability in 3G and 4G wireless platforms.

The companies claim that the combined IDT/TI offering produces higher speeds and control of the switch fabric traffic in networks with large clusters of DSPs, which is critical to achieve the next node of performance in 3G and 4G wireless applications.

In addition, the IDT Serial RapidIO Gen2 products, which are backwards compatible with RapidIO 1.3, will allow system designers to improve overall system level performance in wireless, video/imaging and military applications. According to the company, this is achieved by the higher lane speeds of the Serial RapidIO Gen2 specification, which runs at double the speed of the current 1.3 version — all in the same small package form factors.

Kathy Brown, general manager of TI’s wireless infrastructure business, said: “We are pleased to have the IDT Gen2 RapidIO endpoint IP in our next-generation DSPs. The RapidIO Gen2 specification, coupled with IDT’s RapidIO Gen2 switches and TI’s wireless infrastructure optimised DSPs, will truly enable base station OEMs to meet the network challenges of data-intensive 3G and 4G networks.”

Fred Zust, vice president and general manager of the communications division at IDT, said: “IDT continues to demonstrate its leadership in Serial RapidIO. With our RapidIO Gen2 program and delivery of IP to TI, IDT is enabling pervasive wireless broadband 4G coverage around the world.

“The IP, combined with our upcoming Gen2 switches, will deliver an enhanced broadband experience for the end user. Our combination of IP and switches will ensure interoperability and will provide seamless end-to-end functionality in next-generation 3G and 4G wireless broadband systems.”

The IDT Serial RapidIO Gen2 endpoint IP will be generally available for microprocessor, DSP, field programmable gate array (FPGA) and ASIC vendors in the fourth quarter of 2009.