AMD rolls out 5G RF chips and test services

AMD is ramping up its support for 5G, from the core to radio access networks (RAN), with new RF chips and test capabilities. This support includes the doubling of AMD’s wireless telecom partner ecosystem in the past year, the integration of the AMD and Xilinx product lines, and the creation of its new Telco Solutions testing lab in collaboration with Viavi.

AMD at MWC 2023 (Source: Pablo Valerio)

The testing lab gives operators and telco solution providers the ability to test, validate and scale computing resources to meet the new requirements from RAN and edge-to-core, said AMD. It provides validation of end-to-end solutions, including both hardware to software, leveraging AMD’s latest processors, adaptive SoCs, SmartNICs, FPGAs and DPUs.

Using the Viavi end-to-end testing suite to test real-life conditions across an entire telco network, the testing lab will enable traffic simulation and generation across core, CU/DU, edge and RAN using both current and future AMD technologies. It also will deliver full functional and performance testing that meets current and future generation requirements. The first 5G ecosystem partners for the testing lab is expected at the start of the second quarter of 2023.

AMD also announced that it is expanding its collaboration with Nokia using the 4^th Gen AMD EPYC processor-based servers to deliver Nokia Cloud RAN solutions. The latest EPYC processors are designed to help communications service providers meet their stringent energy efficiency goals.

On the product side, AMD reported strong adoption for its Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC and MPSoC radio technology for 4G/5G applications. These devices have enabled new integrated remote radio unit designs, and now AMD is expanding the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC digital front-end (DFE)  line with two new devices. These include the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU63DR and Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU64DR RFSoCs for global 4G/5G radios that require lower cost, power and spectrum-efficient radios for increased wireless connectivity, said the company.

Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC (Source: AMD)

AMD is collaborating with more than 15 radio system partners that are designing O-RAN-based remote radio units for open interfaces using the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoCs and MPSoCs. The Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU63DR targets four transmit and four receive (4T4R) and dual-band entry-level O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) applications, while the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU64DR addresses eight transmit and eight receive (8T8R) O-RU applications using the 3^rd Generation Partner Project (3GPP) split-8 option, which supports alternative and legacy radio unit architectures.

AMD said “both RFSoC devices leverage the deep DFE integration available in the flagship Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZU67DR device. Production is planned for the second quarter of 2023.

AMD’s partner Renesas Electronics Corp. is demonstrating a full RF front-end solution for 5G active antenna systems (AAS) radios in collaboration with AMD. The RF front-end, including RF switches, low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) and pre-drivers, are paired with the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC digital front-end (O-RU) reference design. It offers a complete solution for the mobile network infrastructure market.

Renesas RF design for the AMD Zynq Ultrascale+ RFSoC kit (Source: Renesas Electronics Corp.)

Demoed at AMD’s booth, the new 5G design reference platform integrates all the RF and digital front-end hardware required for base stations operating in the O-RAN ecosystem. This includes a high-isolation multi-throw digital pre-distortion (DPD) switch, a high-gain and linearity pre-driver in a compact package, an integrated switch and LNA with input signal coupling functionality.

The RF front-end has been integrated with the AMD RFSoC DFE ZCU670 Evaluation Kit for prototyping and development of wireless network systems. Key benefits of the platform include higher RF performance, minimized DPD resources for TX channel linearization, improved radio efficiency and reduced operating costs for wireless network providers. The two companies previously collaborated on the high-performance RF timing solution for 5G Next-Gen Radio (5G NR), which incorporates Renesas’ IEEE 1588-enabled system synchronizer as part of the DFE ZCU670 Evaluation Kit.

AMD is showcasing the Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC DFE family at Mobile World Congress (MWC), along with the latest 4^th Gen AMD EPYC processor-powered systems in conjunction with technology partners. AMD is exhibiting in Hall 2, Stand 2M61.