Epson and Infineon Develop Tiny Single-Chip GPS Receiver

February 13, 2009

Seiko Epson Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, and Infineon Technologies AG of Neubiberg, Germany, have developed a GPS single-chip design, the XPOSYS, which is optimized for mobile devices for the consumer market — especially cellular phones with navigation features.

Compared to existing solutions in the market, the XPOSYS, which is manufactured in a 65-nanometer process technology, provides increased performance and new levels of user experience, the companies said.

Sensitivity has been increased from -160 dBm to -165 dBm, allowing for pinpoint positional accuracy when indoors or in urban canyons. Power consumption has been reduced by 50 percent, increasing the battery life of products in which it is included. The footprint has been reduced to 2.8 x 2.9 millimeters, which the companies claim is 25 percent less than the smallest GPS chip available elsewhere and provides, together with only nine additional external passive components, design flexibility and substantially lower system cost for device manufacturers.

“We’re very excited about this cooperation, which matches our GPS baseband IP with Infineon’s number one radio frequency design,” said Yutaka Kitazawa, head of Epson’s GPS Business Development Division. “We’re convinced that this partnership between two great companies with excellent technologies enables us to offer best-in-class solutions for the worldwide GPS market.”

“We are honored to have such a strong partner with us,” said Weng Kuan Tan, division president of the Wireless Division at Infineon Technologies. “This is a perfect symbiosis, with Epson offering one of the best GPS baseband solutions worldwide, long-term experience and the leading position in the Japanese domestic market.”

Market forecasts by leading analysts predict strong growth of GPS features in mobile handsets, in addition to portable navigation devices (PND) and automotive embedded devices. According to market researcher iSuppli, the GPS penetration in handsets will rise from 2008 level of 19 percent to 35 percent by 2012. In unit terms, this translates to 238 million GPS-enabled mobile handsets in 2008 going up to 543 million units in 2012.

In addition, PNDs, automotive systems and vehicle-device solutions are gaining popularity. The market research company Strategy Analytics is forecasting PND sales to exceed 100 million units by 2013 globally.

Samples of the XPOSYS chip available now for OEMs. Volume production is expected to start by mid-2009.

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