Front-end IC based on SiGe

Atmel Corp. rolled out a new Silicon Germanium (SiGe) based front-end IC that features an operating frequency range of 300MHz to 500MHz. According to the press release, the use of SiGe technology, the simple and flexible application circuit, and the ATR0981 IC's wide operating frequency range make possible a broad range of applications, from handheld 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, added the company.

The press release further said that SiGe ensures high reliability and robustness due to low temperature dependency, and offers increased efficiency. The PAE value is as high as 55 percent (typical), helping to ensure the low current consumption of the PA, explained Atmel. The overall current consumption can be reduced even further by shutting down the PA, providing extended battery life. The output power can reach 29dBm and the PA has a power gain of 34dB, controllable within a range of 3dB. ATR0981's LNA delivers a noise figure of 1.5dB and a power gain of 19dB.

Samples of the ATR0981 are available in PSSO20 packages, which are both Pb-free and green. Pricing for the ATR0981 starts at $1.20 in quantities of 10,000 units.