Mediatek was one of many first distributors to display working 802.11be-compliant silicon beneath the Filogic lineup in January 2022. As a part of the bulletins at this week’s Computex, the corporate offered further technical particulars together with half numbers. The Filogic 880 platform will service entry factors, routers, and gateways, whereas the Filogic 380 will probably be seen within the shopper gadgets.
Wi-Fi 7 / 802.11be Background
The 802.11 Working Group targeted on extraordinarily excessive throughput when beginning work on 802.11be. This has been achieved primarily by way of a mix of three totally different elements:
- Help for as much as 16 spatial streams
- Help for channel widths as much as 320MHz (with operation in 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands)
- Help for 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) leading to higher utilization of accessible spectrum (a sooner modulation / coding scheme).
It have to be famous that wider channels can be found solely within the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. Theoretically, these elements permit for as much as round 46 Gbps of wi-fi throughput. 802.11be additionally goals to allow utilization of Wi-Fi for real-time functions by together with options for low-latency communications akin to Multi-link operation (MLO). This permits a shopper and an entry level to concurrently talk over a number of channels that may even belong to totally different bands.
Supply: Mediatek Wi-Fi 7 Whitepaper
802.11ax launched OFDMA to separate the channel into a number of useful resource models (RUs), permitting a number of purchasers to obtain information packets concurrently. Wi-Fi 7 brings in a A number of RU (MRU) function that enables punctured RUs (at a 20 MHz granularity). Puncturing permits interference mitigation, and likewise will increase the OFDMA effectivity.
Supply: Mediatek Wi-Fi 7 Whitepaper
The advantages of MRU are introduced out within the above image – on prime, puncturing permits enchancment in spectral effectivity, and therefore, information bandwidth. Under that, we see apparent latency advantages when a number of purchasers are concurrently energetic.
Interference and co-existence with non-Wi-Fi customers of the identical spectrum is dealt with utilizing computerized frequency coordination (AFC). Whereas Broadcom’s pledge of help for the Open AFC initiative, and Qualcomm offering its personal turnkey resolution for its clients, Mediatek has solely indicated that the Filogic 880 platform helps AFC, with no further particulars.
Mediatek Filogic 880 Platform
Mediatek’s Filogic 880 platform providers the Wi-Fi 7 entry level and wi-fi router market. Just like its competitor’s choices, the platform helps all the most important Wi-Fi 7 options – 320 MHz bandwidth within the 6GHz band, 4K-QAM, Multi-link operation (MLO), Computerized Frequency Coordination (AFC), and A number of Useful resource Models.
The platform helps as much as 5 bands with impartial RFICs that talk with the Filogic 680 Wi-Fi 7 baseband chip. Whereas conventional routers might use solely three bands, mesh programs and premium routers could make use of the help for 2 further bands. On the coronary heart of the reference design is a 1.8 GHz quad-core Cortex A73-based WiSoC. It additionally features a community processing unit (NPU) with hardware-accelerated QoS and tunneling offload engines. The WiSoC does not embody an built-in swap, although. Designs are anticipated to undertake an exterior swap to translate one of many two 10Gbps USXGMII ports to both a single 10GbE, or a mixture of NBASE-T and Gigabit Ethernet ports. Varied different high-speed I/Os are additionally out there within the WiSoC.
Not like Qualcomm (whose announcement of the Wi-Fi 7 Networking Professional product suite was coated earlier this month), Mediatek is adopting an open strategy when it comes to making technical particulars of the platform out there to the general public. Broadcom additionally adopted an identical strategy whereas introducing their product suite.
The Filogic 880 platform’s WiSoC is fabricated in a 6nm course of. In response to Mediatek, this delivers important energy effectivity in comparison with its rivals (with out public data of the fabrication course of for Qualcomm’s and Broadcom’s choices and/or public availability of their platforms, this declare is tough to judge).
The MAC/baseband is carried out within the Filogic 680 half. Right here, Mediatek opts for an fascinating strategy The 6GHz band additionally adopts a 4T5R (quad-transmit, penta-receive) antenna configuration to spice up throughput and vary, notably for backhauls in mesh programs. The Filogic 680 incorporates the MAC and baseband logic for all three bands, and likewise consists of MLO management. Mediatek contends that this strategy is healthier than the scheme of discrete MAC/PHYs for every band between the WiSoC and the basebad/RFIC, and placing the MLO logic within the WiSoC – when it comes to latency (claims of as much as 100x enchancment) in addition to board design price.
Mediatek’s reference design is a four-layer PCB, which ought to result in a decrease price for its clients. Mediatek claims that the multi-chip MAC / PHY / baseband strategy of its rivals ends in increased price on account of extra advanced PCBs (six or eight layer PCBs). These elements ought to be readily evident to finish customers when routers / APs primarily based on platforms from totally different distributors come to the market.
Mediatek Filogic 380
On the shopper facet, Mediatek is asserting the Filogic 380 combo resolution with help for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3. This combo single-chip resolution can be constructed on a 6nm course of. The 2×2 resolution helps speeds as much as 6.5Gbps with dual-band dual-concurrent operation. 320 Mhz bandwidth, 4K-QAM, MLO, and MRU are supported.
Mediatek additionally indicated help for an additional obtain antenna to enhance efficiency and vary for Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity by enabling MRC (a number of obtain combining). Bluetooth LE audio can be supported. The Filogic 380 additionally consists of coexistence know-how to make sure that BT and Wi-Fi can each function within the 2.4GHz band with out interference. Host connectivity is both through PCIe 4.0 x1 or USB 3.0.
Mediatek is at present demonstrating each platforms at Computex 2022. Based mostly on Mediatek’s claims, it seems that routers and APs primarily based on the Filogic 880 ought to hit very enticing value factors with out sacrificing something when it comes to efficiency or options. Merchandise primarily based on the brand new Filogic platforms ought to begin showing out there inside a couple of quarters.
