Zarlink expands analog IC lineup

Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. will introduce a series of analog ICs targeting high-speed communications applications such as cellular and fixed wireless networks, WLANs, digital TVs, and video distribution networks.

The products include 6GHz to 10GHz frequency synthesizers, broadband amplifiers, broadband line drivers, 6GHz and 10GHz prescalers and a broadband RF power splitter, said Jitesh Vadhia, SVP and GM of the Network Access business unit of Zarlink Semiconductor.

The devices will be fabricated in a high-speed complementary bipolar process features NPNs with 25GHz f_T and 20GHz PNPs. Complementary bipolar provides performance comparable to SiGe or GaAs but costs less to produce, according to Zarlink.

The company, based in Ottawa, is effectively a spin-out of Mitel Semiconductor. Its high-performance analog group is headquartered in Swindon, United Kingdom at the former design center of GEC Plessey Semiconductors, which Mitel acquired in the 1990s.

Zarlink customers are evaluating the new prescalers for timing and synchronization applications in HiperLAN and broadband local multipoint distribution systems, Vadhia said. The HiperLAN WLAN standard has been adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Zarlink's prescalers are also designed for use in radar systems, instrumentation and measurement equipment, telecom timing circuits, and other types of radios, Vadhia added.

- Stephan Ohr

EE Times