Tiny car antenna claims best noise performance

Atmel Corp. launches an active antenna IC that addresses the operating frequency range of up to 790MHz, Designed for FM car antennas, car radios and navigation applications, the antenna IC covers regional broadcast systems including DMB in Korea , DVB-T in Europe and U.S. and ISDB-T in Japan .

The ATR4253 IC integrates an automatic gain control, supply voltage regulator with overvoltage protection and an antenna sensor in a 3mm x 3mm footprint. Claimed to be the smallest active antenna IC, it may be located in the car mirror, bumper, rear or side windows. It is also suited for modern window or glass antennas, and the robust IC addresses other antenna types including pole or shark fin antennas.

The antenna IC addresses the two most crucial issues for designing antenna applications. It can be designed as a pre-amplifier for car radios or navigation applications which require FM-RDS information. It is said to enable crystal-clear reception without distortion even under extreme difficult and rapidly fluctuating field strength conditions typically found in moving antenna systems.

The device is equipped with a broad range of features including voltage regulation (important function when an unstabilized phantom feed is used), ESD protection, excellent system performance, and a very robust ambient temperature capability of up to 115°C . In addition, the AGC avoids problems with large signals, while maintaining a high sensitivity level.

Samples of the car radio antenna IC ATR4253 are now available in small-outline QFN16 packages. Pricing starts at $0.69 for quantities of 100K. To simplify and accelerate a product design, a demo board plus an application note are available under a non-disclosure agreement.