Atmel Launches Highly Integrated RoHS-compliant SiGe Front-End IC for Private Mobile Radios (PMR)
HEILBRONN, Germany, Nov. 21 -- Atmel(R) (NASDAQ:ATML), a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced today the availability of a new Silicon Germanium (SiGe) based front-end IC, ATR0981. The use of SiGe technology, the simple yet flexible application circuit, and the device's wide operating frequency range (300 MHz to 500 MHz) make possible a broad range of applications, from hand- held family radios (private mobile radios, PMR) to meter readers. It is easy to design applications with low external component counts using this front-end device because of its high level of integration, including a very efficient power amplifier (PA) and a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for the receive path.
In contrast to most competitors' family-radio front-end solutions, which are designed as discrete solutions, this device is an integrated circuit manufactured using Atmel's innovative Silicon Germanium (SiGe) technology, providing many advantages over discrete or non-SiGe solutions. SiGe ensures high reliability and robustness due to low temperature dependency; plus, the cost savings of using the ATR0981 IC go beyond simply the component cost -- lower component count also equals decreased design effort, failure risk and assembly cost.
What is more, SiGe offers increased efficiency -- the PAE value is as high as 55%, typically, helping to ensure the low current consumption of the PA. The overall current consumption can be reduced even further by shutting down the PA, providing extended battery life. The output power can reach 29 dBm and the PA has a power gain of 34 dB, controllable within a range of 3 dB. ATR0981's LNA offers excellent noise performance, with a noise figure of 1.5 dB and a power gain of 19 dB.
Samples of the ATR0981 are available now in PSSO20 packages, which are both Pb-free and green. Atmel is the one of very few suppliers offering this type of product as an RoHS-compliant device. Pricing for the ATR0981 starts at 1.20 US$ in quantities of 10 k.
About Atmel
Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions. Focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets, Atmel ICs can be found Everywhere You Are(R).
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Information:
Atmel's front-end IC ATR0981 product information may be retrieved at: www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=3765 .
