MACOM acquires Mindspeed to boost 100 Gig offerings

MACOM has acquired Mindspeed Technologies for $272 million, gaining two of the company's three divisions: high-performance analogue and communications processors. Intel has gained the third wireless infrastructure division of Mindspeed that includes 3G/ LTE infrastructure ICs and small-cell technology that Mindpseed gained with the acquisition of UK firm, Picochip, in 2012. 

Ray MoroneyThe Mindspeed acquisition increases the serviceable addressible market for MACOM, both geographical - the company will strengthen its presence in Asia Pacific - and by gaining new equipment vendor accounts. It also broadens MACOM's 100 Gigabit physical device portfolio.

"We are targeting the 100 Gig buildout and the growth coming from that," says Ray Moroney, product line manager, opto-device business unit at MACOM. 

Mindpeed also makes a broad portfolio of crosspoint switches used in datacom equipment, and several families of communications processors. 

With the acquisition of Mindspeed we have the full electronics bill-of-materials for CFP2 and CFP4 [module] client-side applications

MACOM entered opto-electronics with the acquisition of Optimai in 2011 that had long-haul and client-side modulator drivers and trans-impedance amplifiers (TIAs). Now with Mindspeed's products, MACOM can capture client-side designs with clock data recovery chips and quad-channel TIAs for 100 Gig modules. "With the acquisition of Mindspeed we have the full electronics bill-of-materials for CFP2 and CFP4 [module] client-side applications," says Moroney. 

MACOM also gains silicon germanium technology alongside its indium phosphide and gallium arsenide technologies. Silicon germanium has a lower cost structure once a design is being made in volume production, says Moroney, but the R&D and mask costs are generally higher. Silicon germanium also allows significant integration. "It is BiCMOS in nature," says Moroney. "You can integrate full CMOS functionality into a design too." For example digital control can be added alongside analogue functions. Moroney says the company will use silicon germanium for high-performance analogue designs like TIAs as well as high-frequency millimeter wave and microwave applications. 

The company is considering its options regarding the future of the communications processors arm of Mindspeed's business. "MACOM is very much an analogue/ RF company," says Moroney. "It [communications processors] is certainly not seen as a core area of investment for MACOM."