RF&WirelessBlog

Direct conversion I/Q demodulator targets SDRs

CML Microcircuits has added a new Direct Conversion Receiver IC (DCRx) to its family of RF ICs. The CMX994 targets the next generation of multi-mode Software Defined Radios (SDR) for wireless data and two-way radio applications. The company says the design of the CMX994 provides the optimum route for on-board integration, allowing a small RF receiver to be realised with a minimum of external components in both zero IF and low IF systems.

TI unveils ‘industry’s fastest’ AFE for femtocells

TI says its latest analogue front end (AFE) for femtocells and portable software-defined radios (SDR) is the industry’s fastest. The low-power, 12-bit AFE7225 integrates a dual 125-MSPS analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) and dual 250-MSPS digital-to-analogue converter (DAC). The company says it  operates 25% faster than the competing devices, while increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by 2 dB and providing up to five times the DAC output current.

RFMD expands portfolio of 2.4GHz front end modules for ZigBee

RF Micro Devices has released the RFFM6201, a 2.4GHz band single-chip Zigbee front-end module (FEM) featuring an integrated power amplifier, low noise amplifier, and diversity switch. RFMD's 2.4GHz RFFM6201 delivers low current consumption (170mA at rated power) and high-power performance (+23dBm) for Home Area Networking (HAN)/Smart Energy applications. The energy efficient device is pin-for-pin compatible with RFMD's popular RF6555 and offers 5dB higher output power, enabling customers to increase power output and range without requiring changes in product layout.

Bluetooth LE SoC saves 33% power

TI has launched a Bluetooth low energy SoC at CES that it says offers a 33% reduction in power consumption compared to the company’s previous generation devices, when transmitting at 1 milliwatt output power, while maintaining robust RF performance. The new SoC is aimed at Bluetooth Smart sensor applications for consumer medical, sports and fitness, security, entertainment and home automation and enables the design of low power sensor devices that can operate for >1 year on a coin cell battery.

IC allows single-chip ZigBee motion sensing remotes

A new chip that is set to allow the development of low cost motion-enabled remote controls has been launched by GreenPeak Technologies, addressing the growing demand for smarter and intuitive navigation of interactive entertainment services offered by operators. The company says its GP570 single chip SoC enables cost-effective motion-enabled remote controls, which will allow mass market adoption of the new generation remote controls to become a reality.

Wireless speaker module delivers ‘four months playback’ from single battery charge

HiWave has announced of a wireless speaker module for consumer Hi-Fi applications that delivers over four months of playback from a single battery charge. The 13W burst (26W peak) module enables OEMs to more rapidly create speakers that receive streamed audio from home cinema systems, PCs, smartphones and tablets throughout the home, without any trailing speaker and power cables.

GPS LNAs dynamically suppress strong transmit signals

NXP has announced a family of SiGe:C low noise amplifiers, dubbed BGU700x, designed to improve the linearity, noise figure and reception of GPS signals while offering the smallest possible footprint. These GPS LNAs dynamically suppress strong cellular, Bluetooth and WLAN transmit signals, offering excellent reception for weak GPS signals, delivering an improvement of 10 dB or better IP3 under -40 to -20 dBm jamming conditions, while the noise figure remains below 1 dB. Requiring only two external components, NXP says the BGU700x LNAs save up to 50% in PCB size and 10% in component cost.

Green Hills’ compilers and toolchain support Altair’s LTE Development

Green Hills has announced that Altair Semiconductor has used the company’s compilers, the Green Hills Probe and MULTI development tool chain, in the development of its 4G LTE products. Altair’s solution covers all variants of the LTE standard on a single chipset and software platform.

RFMD’s PAs power new smartphones

RF Micro Devices has started volume production of multiple 3G/4G power amplifiers in support of two smartphone families. The two most recent smartphones supported by RFMD feature RFMD's PowerSmart power platform and RFMD's RF724x family of ultra-high efficiency power amplifiers.
The first smartphone featuring RFMD's PowerSmart is a stylish, all-touch handset featuring a brilliant 3.2" high resolution display, a 5MP camera with flash and video recording, and preinstalled social networking apps for a smoothly integrated mobile experience. The second smartphone, featuring RFMD's RF7241, RF7242, RF7244, RF7245, and RF7258, is a powerful, full-featured smartphone with a high resolution touch display, a highly tactile keyboard, and a precise optical trackpad. The smartphone will be available in multiple triple-band 3G versions featuring RFMD's ultra-high efficiency 3G/4G PAs exclusively. Both smartphones are manufactured by a leading North America-based smartphone manufacturer.

Nordic enhances radio with upgraded Bluetooth stack and better power performance

Nordic Semiconductor has revised its nRF8001 Bluetooth 4.0 low energy radio to extend the devices’ power saving performance and upgrade its Bluetooth core stack. The revision - which will be called the nRF8001 'Build D' and is already sampling to selected leading customers - is fully drop-in compatible (hardware and software) with the current Nordic nRF8001 (Build C) ensuring a smooth migration path for existing customers. The new power saving features and enhanced Bluetooth stack are easily accessible through an expanded Application Controller Interface (ACI) command set that can be used by extending existing application code.