TV tuner IC loads RF, IF functions on a single chip

Infineon Technologies AG has introduced an economical, low-power tuner ICthe Taifun TUA6039that integrates the complete RF and IF functions on a single chip. The company said the product is leading the evolution of smaller and more cost effective digital TV tuner ICs without compromise to performance.

According to the company, the new device has only half the footprint area of the conventional RF + IF tuner solution. The IC provides a reliable solution for tuner, STB and TV manufacturers, offering a 50 percent reduction in board space and power consumption compared to previous generation. This makes the device a suitable upgrade path for customers currently using Infineon's two-chip solutionthe TUA6034 (RF multimedia tuner) and the TUA6192 (IF amplifier).

The device is manufactured using a bi-polar process and is well-suited for stationary broadcast receivers where both low cost and lower power consumption are major design requirements in this highly competitive market. The product is a full 3-band RF tuner IC with integrated IF AGC amplifier and PLL.

This low power tuner IC operates between 3V and 5V supply voltage with a power consumption of only 330mW (typical), Infineon said, compared to about 600mW for similar competing solutions. The high level of system integration enables more cost effective tuner solutions and reduces development cycle times that allows for faster time to market, the company said. The device supports major analog and digital standards for terrestrial and cable applications like PAL, SECAM, NTSC, DVB-C, DVB-T, T-DMB, DAB, ISDB-T and ATSC.

"The latest market driven trends in developing digital television receivers are the competencies to reduce the footprint of the tuner module while delivering higher performance and lower power consumption at significantly reduced costs," said Giuseppe Calarco , general manager of the Tuner Systems business unit at Infineon's communication solutions business group. "The launch of the TUA6039 shows that Infineon is continuing to expand its expertise in analog and RF chip design and manufacturing to support its customers with strategic products for the TV tuner market."

Samples of TUA6039 in Green PG-VQFN-48 packages are already available, with volume production planned for Q3 2006. Infineon will also make available a complete TV Tuner reference design with TUA6039 that will provide added value to customers by reducing their development costs and time to market.