Developing advanced RF solutions for the wireless semiconductor industry.

In the mid-nineties, something extremely important happened in the world of RF. ParkerVision's team of engineers, mathematicians and scientists reached an incredible breakthrough that, today, is changing the face of wireless communications.

Yet, to understand the importance of their discovery, it is important to understand the nature of wireless communications. Wireless communication through the RF spectrum has been possible since Guglielmo Marconi achieved the first radio signal transmission and reception in 1895. Only two years later the letter "S" was sent across the English Channel by telegraphy. Understandably, the world of communications has changed since that first wireless telegraph was sent.

Now, cellular architectures connect us to other people all over the globe. We can reach friends, family and business associates instantly, and we can share information in real time. Wireless networks connect offices and people allowing for the expansion of infrastructure and the enabling of an information rich mobile workforce. It is impossible not to notice that what Marconi achieved has created a new communications plateau from which the world now sees the future.

The world now faces new problems and challenges. Cellular service providers are faced with capacity issues. Cellular customers have almost come to expect dropped calls. Handset manufacturers have to trade important features such as high speed Internet for increased talk time.

How could this happen? Surely the world of RF and the designs of wireless communications have changed since Marconi invented them over a century ago. Sadly, before the mid-nineties, the answer was no. The designs hadn't changed. Of course, there had been betterments of the technology. RF engineers were able to push the limits of the design further and further and achieve some very important successes. The problem was that they were always impeded by factors that could not be overlooked: the laws of physics. There was only so far that the technology could be pushed. The designs of yesterday began to reach the point of diminishing returns where tweaking and tuning were no longer providing the desired results.

That is where ParkerVision's story began. ParkerVision's research teams were not encumbered with the notion that Marconi's way was the only way to effect wireless communication. ParkerVision's team was able to approach RF with a clean slate. This represented such a departure from the traditional approach to RF that it became important to realize the significance of this difference.

What they discovered was Energy Signal Processing (ESP™).

What makes ESP different? Marconi based RF architectures were concerned with preserving the carrier waves on which wireless communications travel. ESP focuses in on the energy of that signal in order to understand the information that it is carrying. The process is mathematically complex to describe but is much more elegant than the older and outdated processes.

The significance of the design can be understood best by analogy. Imagine if the world had never moved forward from the computer designs of the 1960's. The huge rooms of vacuum tubes would not be appropriate for the homes of today. The discovery of the transistor ushered in a new era of microelectronics. Without this discovery we would never have had the personal computer. ESP is the RF equivalent of transistor technology. With ESP, the future of true wireless convergence is in sight.

ParkerVision quickly realized the importance of determining the best way to develop this technology. Looking at this issue with an intuitive eye, ParkerVision focused in on the problems that are facing the cellular industry today, an industry where ESP could have the largest impact in the shortest time frame.

Direct2Power™ (d2p™) is ParkerVision's transmit chain replacement solution for the cellular market (literally a one chip replacement for the transmitters and power amplifiers of yesterday's designs).

The immediate benefits for the solutions are realized in many forms. From allowing for phones with more capabilities and better connectivity to enabling longer battery life in mobile handsets, ParkerVision's technology will bring dynamic improvements to all aspects of the mobile industry.

ParkerVision's technological solutions will also aid in the development of 3G technologies and beyond by providing the performance at the handset and network level that cellular customers and service providers require. Cellular customers will find that mobile handsets powered with this technology will drop fewer calls and have more features.

Yet, ParkerVision understands that the impact of ESP can be much broader. The entire RF industry is working to one ultimate goal, convergence. The practical implication of true convergence correlates to mobile devices that are able to cross all the boundaries of the RF spectrum. This could be realized in the form of mobile handsets that can communicate using cellular standards, on WiFi networks, using VoIP Ð in other words, a complete integration of all RF devices and technologies. Before the mid-nineties the possibility for true RF convergence was unreachable. The mixing, sampling and direct conversion technologies were too clunky and limited. With ESP, the wireless industry's drive for convergence is realized.