ISM-band transceiver integrates power amplifier

RF Micro Devices Inc. has released the industry's first 5.8GHz ISM-band transceiver with an integrated power amplifier. The ML5805 is a low-IF, frequency shift key (FSK) transceiver designed for operation in the license-free 5.8GHz ISM band. Proprietary point-to-point and point-to-multipoint radios using 5.8GHz ISM band transceivers are increasingly being implemented in consumer applications such as wireless audio, wireless video and data connectivity.

The ML5805 integrates the power amplifier and low noise amplifier (LNA) with the transceiver architecture onto a single chip. The ML5805's design provides radio designers ease-of-implementation and a minimal external BOM count as well as improved time-to-market for OEMs. Additionally, the ML5805 provides radio designers the flexibility to optimize each application by offering five, digitally selectable data rates ranging from 576Kbit/s up to 2.048Mbit/s. The variable data rate capability of the ML5805 allows it to serve a broad range of applications and further accelerates OEM time-to-market by enabling broadly applicable 5.8GHz radio platforms.

The ML5805 is RFMD's first product to incorporate the Company's proprietary FastWave MCU technology, which improves performance through value-add features including self-alignment of the low-IF receiver and phase locked loop (PLL) detection and control. FastWave also provides flexible user-specific application configurations by allowing modifications via a three-wire serial interface to transceiver control, calibration and interface algorithms. With the implementation of FastWave, the ML5805 allows customers to eliminate the cumbersome mass production tuning process necessary with competing transceiver solutions.

"As the industry's first 5.8GHz ISM-band transceiver to integrate the power amplifier, the ML5805 eases implementation for radio designers and accelerates time-to-market for OEMs," said Alastair Upton, general manager of RFMD's broadband and consumer business unit. "Also, with the implementation of our proprietary FastWave MCU technology, the ML5805 delivers incremental benefits to designers and OEMs in time savings and simplified design. The ML5805 improves upon the performance characteristics of our popular ML5800 and is designed to target a significantly expanded range of data rate applications."

The ML5805 improves upon the successful ML5800, which has enjoyed favorable design activity into multiple proprietary wireless connectivity applications, including wireless speaker applications by Eleven Engineering.

Technical features of the ML5805 include an integrated PA delivering 21dBm typical output power; improved receive (Rx) sensitivity to -97dBm at 0.1 percent BER as well as improved fractional-N synthesizer performance with 30Hz resolution. Other features include three-wire serial control interface and self-calibrating VCO and filters that eliminate tuning using FastWave MCU technology.

The ML5805 is packaged in a 6mm x 6mm x 1mm, 40-pin QFN package with samples available immediately and pre-production quantities available in Q3 08.