Toumaz Technology Ltd has announces that its newly formed joint venture, Future Waves Pte Ltd., has developed its first product for Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) based on Toumaz's proprietary ultra-low power silicon technology platform. Taiwan-based Future Waves, an RF CMOS fabless design house, is licensing Toumaz's core AMx advanced mixed signal and RF technologies to develop digital broadcasting receiver applications within the leading-edge Far East market.
Future Waves will make functional samples of its first DAB RF tuner chip - FENIX - available to selected customers from mid Q3 2005. The FENIX (FNX14701) highly integrated single chip RF solution for DAB and FM offers the lowest power consumption and cost, combined with the highest functionality, available in the industry today, paving the way for widespread adoption of DAB receivers in portable and handheld equipment, such as next-generation mobile phones and PDAs.
According to a recent study conducted by Eureka Research, the market value of DAB products is set to increase by 40 per cent annually between 2004 and 2010.
This latest joint venture formed by Toumaz Technology will retain strong links to Imperial College, London, from which Toumaz was spun-out in 2000 to commercialise the ultra-low power silicon chip technology developed by Professor Chris Toumazou - now Chairman and Co-Founder of Future Waves.
Commenting on the announcement, Professor Toumazou said, "With Future Waves now establishing an active presence in the Far East, Toumaz's ground-breaking AMx technology has found a home in fast growth consumer markets. We are confident that it will provide the foundation for significant commercial success in one of the largest markets in the world."
"The formation of Future Waves allows us to take Toumaz's low power RF technology and commercialise it where the real customer base is," added Future Waves CEO Glenn Vandevoorde. He continued, "By building on the disruptive AMx technology platform, Future Waves is uniquely placed to exploit this emerging opportunity and lead the market in digital tuners for next-generation portable devices."
Keith Errey, CEO of Toumaz Technology, concluded, "The flexibility of the AMx platform will enable Future Waves to rapidly develop a range of products for different digital broadcasting standards, such as T-DMB, DVB-H and DRM, and gain further competitive advantage in this important market."
