UK IC design house helps Chinese MEMS startup
Founded in early 2012, QST engaged Sondrel in October of the same year to help develop the signal conditioning IC for a magnetometer that would be used as a navigational compass within smartphones and tablet computers. The tape out was achieved in February 2013 and full mask production started in June 2013 with first samples of the chip with QST in August 2013.
QST is also known as Shanghai Silicon Core Technology Co. Ltd. according to its website. The company has two eCompass products; the QMC5983 and the QMC6983.
The QMC6983 is based on Honeywell’s anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) magnetic induction technology but independently developed for use in single-chip three-axis magnetic sensor. The sensor comes in an LGA package measuring 1.6mm by 1.6mm by 1mm.
Sondrel was founded in 2002 and now has the largest IC design consulting team in Europe and often provides services to both large and small semiconductor companies. The company is experienced in digital, mixed-signal, analog, low-power and wireless designs having completed more than 200 designs at process geometries down to 20nm. Capabilities range from RTL design through verification, emulation to physical implementation including power analysis and yield management.
"In the is application we are dealing with very weak signals, in the region of 1-microvolt, which we have to capture and process. Our expertise lies in the analogue field but we needed Sondrel’s digital design experience and resource to develop the digital side," said Jospeh Xie, founder and CEO of QST, in a statement issued by Sondrel.
Xie said that Sondrel’s design presence in China helped bring the project in ahead of schedule as development discussions could take place in Chinese, without having to consider time zones or experience delays.
Graham Curren, CEO of Sondrel said that his company’s close relationship with EDA software provider Mentor Graphics also helped and the project involved the first use of Mentor’s Olympus-SoC software for a full-chip design in China.
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