With the convergence of IP and telephony carriers, service providers and corporations continually have to scale their networks to keep up with the increasing demand fueled by data, voice and video services. This bandwidth explosion is creating more emphasis on scalability, security and reliability with cost, high speed design and power constraints remaining paramount. Fidus’ world-class team of engineers has extensive experience in helping some of the world’s leading communications equipment providers meet their stringent performance and time-to-market needs.
Our Experience
Our breadth of experience and depth of knowledge in the Communications Industry means you can rely on Fidus to provide the skill sets and technical knowledge to implement leading-edge technology into your products. Our expertise includes:
- Wireline and Optical: ATM, TDM, xDSL, T1/E1, IP, DS1, OC-3/12/48/192, 10/100 Base-T Ethernet, 1/10GbE,
- Wireless and RF: DC to 24 GHz, WiFi/WLAN (802.11b/g), WiMAX, CDMA, OFDM, Software Defined Radio (SDR), RFID, Zigbee®, AIS
- Backplane: PCI/PCI-X, PCIe, XAUI, HyperTransport, Infiniband, RapidIO®,VME
- High Speed Signaling (up to 20Gbps): LVDS, ECL/PECL/LVPECL, CML HSTL, SSTL
- High Speed Memory: DDR/2/3, SDR, QDR
- Computing Architectures: ATCA, HP, IBM
Our Capabilities
As a full-service product development partner, Fidus can accelerate transforming your concepts into revenue-generating products. Our strengths include:
- High Speed Backplanes up to 10Gbps
- DDR 2/3
- 10/40G Ethernet
- 75Gbps parallel optical module
- XAUI
- XFI
- PCIe
Hardware and PCB Layout Design
- System and Board-level Architectural design
- Analog/Digital/Optical and RF Design
- Electronic circuit design and schematic capture
- Circuit analysis and simulation
- Timing budget calculation
- Component selection and fitting analysis
- PCB Layout
- ROHS compliance analysis
- Component obsolescence analysis and re-design
- Cost reduction redesign
- Power analysis and simulation
- Thermal analysis and simulation
- Cost analysis and second sourcing
- Design with Xilinx, Altera, and Lattice
- Architecture design, analysis, and device selection
- Interface timing budget calculations
- FPGA design in Verilog, SystemVerilog or VHDL
- Test bench development
- Functional and timing simulation and regression
- Bank and pin assignments
- Power consumption and fitting analysis
- ASIC to FPGA conversion
- FPGA/ASIC verification
- Pre-layout and post-route high speed
- RF signal analysis and simulation
- Power integrity analysis and simulation
- EMI, EMC and Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis
- PCB Stack-up design and analysis
- 3D RF component modeling and simulation
Software and Firmware Development
- RTOS and non-RTOS embedded system development
- Computer and embedded application and device driver development
- Board support package (BSP) and boot loader integration
- Board and system level diagnostics development
- Windows and Linux Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) development
- Protocol stack development and integration
- SNMP agent and target development
- System BIOS porting
- Software and Firmware integration testing
- High complexity and high density PCB layout
- Mixed material PCBs, blind/buried vias, controlled impedance, buried capacitance
- Footprint and symbol library management
- Design for Fabrication (DFF) analysis
- Design for Manufacturing (DFM) analysis
- Design for Test (DFT) analysis
- RF and mmWave printed components
- Rigid or Flex PCB design
- Project Management
- PCB Fabrication and Assembly
- Design Verification Testing
- Reliability Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Regulatory Compliance Testing and Certification
Our Communications Customers
- Alcatel Lucent
- IPG Photonics
- Mitel Networks
- Nortel Networks
- Octiga Bay
- ShieldTech Systems
- Spirent Communications
- Stratalight Communications
Our Project Examples
Fidus developed a hardware platform to facilitate verification of IP cores for an optical line card utilizing FPGAs in the data path. This reference design provides a 40Gb/sec optical transponder compliant with the OC-768 SONET and STM-256 standards, and interfaces this to a XAUI based backplane running multiple 3.125Gbits/sec links. For this project, Fidus delivered an initial architectural analysis for customer approval before proceeding with schematic capture, PCB layout design and signal integrity analysis. Fidus managed the PCB fabrication and build process, and then tested the final products to ensure they met the customer’s requirements.
xDSL SYSTEM
Fidus was responsible for the design of an xDSL system for installation in Central Office (CO) and Outside Plant Cabinets (OSP) locations. The system included 48-192 xDSL ports and dual GigE/2.5GigE uplinks. Deliverables included all design files, tested systems, support for client network integration testing and compliance requirements (product safety, EMC, NEBS).
10/40G Optical Line Cards
Fidus developed a series of high speed optical line cards for a next generation DWDM transport product. These boards use 75 Gigabit parallel optical modules interconnected with multi-gigabit (>6Gbps) serial links and high speed DDR parallel buses to achieve datapath throughput in excess of 320 Gbps. In addition, extensive analog and mixed signal design was required to provide control and monitoring of optical modulators, lasers, APDs and EDFAs.
WiMAX Antenna Array Interface
Fidus developed a number of PCBs for a WiMAX Beamforming product. These PCBs included an Analog IF Modem Interface, baseband processor, a calibration module, and the RF front end with an antenna array interface.
24 GHz Point-to-Point Radio Link
Fidus developed the architecture, hardware, software, mechanical design, and factory test station for a Point-to-Point IP radio operating in the 24 GHz unlicenced portion of the K-band. This involved mmWave circuit design using both monolithic and discrete ICs and a custom waveguide filter for the antenna interface. In addition, Fidus supported the product through all necessary regulatory compliance testing and managed the pre-production builds.
IP Handset - IP5540 Attendant Console
The project demanded a mixture of background knowledge in LCD displays, SoC processor technology,
Power-over-Ethernet, voice signal interfaces, signal integrity and EMI containment, as well as ESD control.
Design was carried out, following the Fidus quality standards and the Mitel standards, procedures,
and documentation authoring all within the Mitel team environment. The electronic and PCB designs
were coordinated with the mechanical design also provided by Fidus, such that all the stringent
regulatory and Mitel standards were readily met. With the help of the signal integrity capabilities within
Fidus, the difficult goal of meeting stringent Class B EMI regulatory standards was achieved with the
first prototypes.
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