Design of Systems on Silicon

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Design of Systems on Silicon (DS2)
Type Private
Industry Semiconductor Devices
Founded1998
Defunct2010
Headquarters Valencia, Spain
Key people
Founder, Jorge Blasco
Products Power line communication
Integrated circuits

Design of Systems on Silicon, officially Diseño de Sistemas en Silicio S.A., (DS2), was a supplier of integrated circuits and software for power line communications. The company was founded in 1998, and went out of business in 2010 after trying to expand into other home network technologies.

Contents

Standards

DS2 developed products compliant with the 200 Mbit/s specification developed by the Universal Powerline Association (UPA). The products can be used to create a local area network, often called as a home network within a residence using existing electrical power wires.

In December 2008, DS2 announced plans to develop the DSS9960 chip, which was to be a dual-mode device interoperable both with the ITU-T G.hn standard and with the UPA specification. [1] [2] [3] The UPA technology had been proposed (but not accepted) into the IEEE 1901 standard. [4]

DS2 demonstrated their G.hn development at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2010. [5] Prototypes used the three medium types used by G.hn (coax, phoneline, and powerline).

History

DS2 was started in 1998 at the European Innovative Companies Center (CEEI) in the Paterna Technology Park. The company reported $20 million in sales in 2008, compared to $15 million in 2007 and $12 million in 2006. It had over 140 employees in 2008. [6]

Jorge Blasco, president and CEO of DS2, was nominated for the European Inventor of the Year Award. The European Inventor of the Year Award ceremony was held in Madrid, Spain along with the European Patent Forum in April 2010. A video at the European Patent Office explains the nomination and the invention. [7]

On 5 March 2010, DS2 entered the Spanish equivalent of voluntary chapter 11 bankruptcy (concurso de acreedores, in Spanish). [8] On 19 August 2010, Marvell Technology Group announced it acquired the intellectual property and assets of DS2. [9]

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References

  1. "DS2 welcomes new ITU-T G.hn standard for high-speed networking and plans for compatible chipset with G.hn/UPA/OPERA compatibility". News release. 16 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. "DS2 Blog: How fast can G.hn be?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  3. Rick Merritt (25 February 2009). "Home networking groups edge toward G.hn". EE Times. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  4. Tony Smith (7 February 2009). "G.hn-ing for gigabit: How the next-gen home LAN standard war was won". The Register. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  5. "DS2 first to show working G.hn prototypes for home networks". News release. 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  6. "DS2, pioneer designing chips for Power Line Communications". España, technology for life. 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  7. "A pioneer in internet connectivity: Finalist for European Inventor 2010 in the "SME" category". European Patent Office. 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  8. "DS2 Emerges from Difficult Year: Company Initiates debt restructuring, forecasts growth going forward". News release. DS2. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  9. "Marvell Acquires DS2 Technology". News release. Marvell. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2011.