About

Circuits Integrated Hellas IKE (CI) is a fab-less semiconductor company providing integrated silicon & compound IC solutions for RF & mmWave applications.

Solution & Product

Circuits Integrated is a deep-tech start-up company, developing proprietary IP and operating as an IC provider of custom solutions and services for the Telecom industry. Research and developments are mainly focused on the millimeter wave frequency range, mostly for Satcom and 5G applications. Circuits Integrated is developing a disruptive solution for these markets, with main targets being cost and size reductions while retaining high performance. Details on the concept solution can be provided on request. Design, Layout, CAD and generally custom IC consultancy services are being provided in the Analog, Mixed Signal and Radio Frequency domains for SMEs as well as global Tier-1 end customers.

Innovation & Scalability

Satcom and 5G applications are growing fast, in a market expected to grow exponentially in the years to come. An enabling technical solution has yet to emerge as the key leader, with several approaches being researched at this moment in time. The high frequency of the signals to be processed and the low-area implementation requirements call for a multi-disciplinary in-depth technical and practical expertise. CI has accumulated considerable relevant experience in this field, developing RFICs and MMICs as well as AIP/SIP integrations. CI has already submitted a national research proposal and ESA grant requests, targeting funding for a total of 2.5M Euros to assess novel solutions for SATCOM and 5G Backhaul, with the national proposal already granted at technical level and the ESA ones currently being evaluated for approval. In its first development phase, CI plans to deliver an innovative platform module to address small scale (5G) as well as large scale (Satcom) applications to be used in electrical steerable antennas and generally with beam forming applications in the millimeter frequency bands. The module will be complemented with the integration in platform of application specific chipsets (MMIC, RFIC and SOC), addressing the various requirements of the targeted markets at low risk, low cost and with fast development cycles.

Traction & achievements

Circuits Integrated core-team has been involved in the development of several highly integrated chipsets (TX and RX) for K-u and K-a band operation in hybrid-type beam forming applications as a design service provider. By leading activities, addressing critical IC block designs and integrating circuitry at top-level, the team has managed to deliver designs suitable for release at first-silicon, enabling documented first-to-market status for the final products. The involvement depth and the know-how gathered in these millimeter wave development activities are substantially beyond the typical experience of similar sized IC companies, ranging from system design to chip productization and qualification, involving package integrations as well as antenna design and support of testing activities. This experience places CI in the condition of enabling developments targeted at addressing the key performance detractors as directly observed while delivering on the carried-out tasks. Proprietary IP has been and is currently being developed to address the flaws and limitations of known approaches, this effort being complemented by innovative concepts at the heart of CI innovation. CI is also contributing to RFIC and AMS SOC developments for global market leaders and Tier-1 players, delivering layout services, design consultancies and critical sign-off chip verifications.

Team & Why Us

The release of an integration platform at the heart of a modular and scalable approach for low profile and high-performance antennas is the first business milestone. Developments are on the way and grant applications supporting these activities are under consideration for approval. The platform integrates innovative and disruptive proprietary CI solutions which are expected to allow an unprecedented trade-off between performance and cost, with drastic reduction of mass and BOM. CI’s engineering core team has been carefully assembled to deliver on this ambitious target, with industry experienced PhD level senior engineers leading the activities. A robust and proprietary design methodology is being implemented to confidently and timely address the involved challenges. Subsequent development phases will use the developed platform, adapting and integrating RFIC/MMIC components suitable for addressing the specific needs of targeted applications and markets. Analog and digital/hybrid beamforming circuitry is to be delivered. Given its tight relations with academic institutions and an extensive network of associate engineers, Circuits Integrated is in the position of adequately increasing its team size with a qualified engineering workforce to deliver on the required designs and proceed to productization.

Funding Needs

To address CI’s seed phase, >2M Euros are needed for releasing the next generation platform for SATCOM and 5G domains, a scalable and modular solution suitable for a diverse range of applications and markets.