EDN — 05.23.96 Integrated Circuits

Integrated Circuits May 23, 1996

GaAs MMIC delivers 3W for GSM applications.

The AWT0904, a 3W power-amplifier IC for global-system-for-mobile (GSM) cellular telephones, uses three stages, which allows it to operate with 0-dBm input power. A single external capacitor matching the amplifier output determines the output power and efficiency of the GaAs IC. Typical efficiency at a power output of 35 dBm is 50%. The amplifier produces very little noise in the GSM receive band: <90 dBm at 30 kHz. The device comes in an SSOP28 housing with an integral heat slug that drops thermal resistance to <30°C/W. The part costs $4.95 (100,000). Anadigics, Warren, NJ. (908) 668-5000.

Transmitter delivers current or voltage output. The programmable ALD-1000 analog line driver converts a ±10V input into either a voltage or current output. You can simultaneously achieve current sensing with an external resistor and perform voltage sensing directly across the load. The ALD1000 develops a switchable output of ±10V or 4 to 20 mA and can drive external transistors to boost output current to levels >±25 mA. Accuracy is 0.05% or better. The part comes in a 28-pin SOIC and costs $5.55 (1000). Burr-Brown Corp, Tucson, AZ. (520) 746-1111.

12-bit ADC draws <1 µA.

Operating from a single supply of 2.7 to 5.25V, the MAX147 12-bit ADC combines an eight-channel multiplexer, high-bandwidth track-and-hold, and four-wire serial interface in a 20-pin DIP or space-saving SSOP. The part draws 0.9 mA at a sampling rate of 133 kHz. A 1-µA power-down mode optimizes power dissipation at all sampling rates. You can program the device for uni- or bipolar operation with eight single-ended or four differential inputs. The serial interface is compatible with SPI, QSPI, and Microwire formats. Prices start at $5.95 (1000). Maxim Integrated Products, Sunnyvale, CA. (408) 737-7600, ext 6087.

Line-powered servoamplifier drives 3.75 hp continuously.

When plugged directly into a 190 to 264V-ac power line, the Model 5421AC servoamplifier for brushless dc motors develops ±170 to ±230V (depending on the ac line voltage) at ±10A continuous and ±20A peak. The device's 2.8-kW continuous output is equivalent to 3.75 hp. Peak power of 4.6 kW permits rapid motor acceleration and regenerative braking. The switching frequency of the Model 5421AC is 15 kHz, which provides a dc to 1.8-kHz bandwidth for fast servo response. The unit comes in a 9.45×3.16×8.85-in. metal case and weighs 7.5 lb. It costs $1200. Copley Controls Corp, Westwood, MA. (617) 329-8200.

Telephone IC for hands-free switching.

Useful for such equipment as speaker phones, cellular phones, and answering machines, the TEA1095 performs voice-activated transmit and receive changeovers. To eliminate howling caused by feedback between a speaker phone's loudspeaker and microphone, the TEA1095 automatically controls the gain of its transmit and receive channels so the sum of their gains remains constant and the loop gain remains below a figure of one. External resistors or capacitors determine the sensitivities and time constants of the TEA1095's speech envelope detectors and the transmit/receive changeover timing. The device comes in 24-pin DIP and SO packages and sells for <$2 in large quantities. Philips Semiconductors, Sunnyvale, CA. (408) 991-2000. Circle No. 408

SPDT antenna switch takes one power supply.

The MRFIC0903, a broadband GaAs IC, serves as a transmit-and-receive or antenna-diversity switch operating from a single positive supply over a frequency range of 100 MHz to 2.0 GHz. Housed in a low-profile plastic SOIC package, the device works with low-current TTL/CMOS-compatible control signals in a number of analog and digital cellular- and cordless-telephone applications. The part costs $5.55 in low volumes. Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector, Phoenix, AZ. (602) 244-6108.

Ethernet controller operates at dual speeds.

Part of the Hurricane fast Ethernet family, the dual-speed 80C300 10/100-Mbps controller furnishes a media-independent interface that complies with 100BaseT4, 100BaseTX, and 100BaseFX physical layers. The device's universal system interface simplifies its integration into embedded systems, such as bridges, routers, and switches. The controller handles big- and little-endian data formats and uses a synchronous 32-bit data bus and an 8/16-bit command/ status bus. Nineteen independent status-logging counters provide remote monitoring, and dual on-chip 128-byte FIFOs permit fast burst transfers. The 80C300 costs $30 (1000). SEEQ Technology Inc, Fremont, CA. (510) 226-7400.

RF power amp targets analog cellular phones.

Conforming to the Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) standard, the RI21012 RF power amplifier operates from a single positive power supply with >60% power-added efficiency. You can use the device for a broad range of AMPS handsets. It operates over a frequency range of 824 to 849 MHz, with an output power of 30 dBm at 4.8V. A single pin provides 30 dB of power control. The RI21012 runs directly from a four-cell NiCd or two-cell lithium-ion battery. It costs $10 (1000). Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, Newport Beach, CA. (714) 221-6996.

Highly integrated PWM controller cuts component costs.

Operating at switching frequencies as high as 1 MHz, the L4990 PWM controller cuts the number of components you need to build an off-line power supply. In addition to essential current-mode PWM control circuits, the L4990 includes a hiccup-mode pulse-by-pulse current limiter, overvoltage protection with shutdown, duty-cycle control, programmable soft start, synchronization, and 100-nsec leading-edge blanking of current sense. The device requires 0.5 mA for startup and develops a current output drive as high as 1A. DIP and SO versions cost $1 (10,000). SGS-Thomson Microelectronics, Lincoln, MA. (617) 259-0300.

Chip set performs DVB-compliant core processing.

A chip set for the direct-broadcast-satellite (DBS) market demodulates and decodes satellite transmissions, meeting all of the digital video broadcast core decoding requirements for a DBS set-top box. The set consists of the HDM8511P CWeST QPSK demodulator with embedded error correction and the HDM8212P MPEG-2 SAVi decoder. The demodulator receives incoming digital satellite signals at rates as high as 90 Mbps and ensures signal integrity by correcting any errors induced during transmission. The HDM8511P costs <$20 and the HDM8212P costs <$40 (commercial quantities). Hyundai Electronics America, Milpitas, CA. (408) 232-8000.

IC offers SRS 3-D audio for multimedia computers.

Built with a fully compliant Plug-and-Play 1.0a ISA-bus interface, the CS4237 single-chip audio subsystem brings spatially accurate, immersive 3-D sound capability to PC motherboards. The device is compatible with Crystal's CS4236 audio IC and adds Sound Retrieval System (SRS) technology from SRS Labs for full dynamic control of immersive 3-D audio. The CS4237 comes with a complete suite of drivers and supports Windows and IBM OS/2 Warp. The part comes in a 100-pin TQFP and costs $42.50 (10,000). Crystal Semiconductor Corp, Austin, TX. (512) 422-7555.

Chip terminates Plug-and-Play SCSI connections.

Fully compliant with SCSI, SCSI-2, and SCSI-3 standards, the DS2109 is a single-chip device for automatic termination in Plug-and-Play SCSI host-bus adapters and motherboards. The device provides active termination for 18 signal lines. Used in conjunction with the DS21S07A terminator, the DS2109 accepts all 27 lines needed for wide SCSI-2, SCSI-3 Parallel Interface (SPI), and SCSI-3 Fast-20. Housed in a 28-pin SOIC, the part costs $3.30 (1000). Dallas Semiconductor, Dallas, TX. (214) 450-0448.

Analog switches exceed 700-MHz bandwidth.

Housed in space-saving 150-mil QSOPs, three CMOS analog multiplexer/demultiplexers offer low on-resistance of only 5V and a wide bandwidth of 700 or 830 MHz. Other performance characteristics include a crosstalk figure of -110 dB at 50 kHz and -66 dB at 30 MHz and off-isolation of -90 and -50 dB at the same respective frequencies. Intended for high-speed multimedia, audio/video, networking, and next-generation PC-TV applications, the QS4A215 24:6, QS4A205 quad 2:1, and QS4A210 dual 4:1 multiplexer/demultiplexers cost $11.15, $3.73, and $3.73, respectively (1000). Quality Semiconductor Inc, Santa Clara, CA. (408) 450-8080.

Free DSP-design kit tailors Flex family PLDs.

Complete with a CD-ROM that offers DSP reference designs, this free tool kit provides information for optimizing DSP functions in Flex 10K and Flex 8000 PLDs. The kit includes a fully parallel FIR filter, a serial FIR filter, a floating-point arithmetic function, and a 333 video convolver reference. Parallel FIR filter designs offer eight-, 16-, 24-, 32-, and 64-tap functions. Altera Corp, San Jose, CA. (800) 525-8372.

Current-to-voltage converter has 200-dB dynamic range.

A logarithmic current-to-voltage converter module measures current from 0.1 pA to 100 µA without having to change ranges. The oven-controlled matched pair of silicon diodes makes up the antilog element of the DN120 converter. Output voltage ranges from 0 to ±5V. The output increases by 0.500V/decade rise in the input current. Output resolution is ±1 mV, or 0.5% of the current being measured. The converter comes in a cast aluminum chassis, operates from a 5V supply, and costs $385. Dawn Electronics Inc, Carson City, NV. (702) 882-7721.

Repackaged FPGA fits PCMCIA cards.

QuickLogic now offers a very-thin quad-flat pack (VQFP) for its line of FPGAs. The low profile of the 1-mm-high VQFP meets the mechanical specifications of PCMCIA Type I, II, and III cards. The first device available in the 100-pin VQFP is the QL12x16B with 2000 usable gates. Pin- and footprint-compatible with existing 100-pin TQFPs, the QL12x16B costs $19.55 (100). QuickLogic Corp, Santa Clara, CA. (408) 987-2000.

PCS power amp works in CDMA/TDMA systems.

Developed for personal-communications-services (PCS) and wireless local-loop applications, the RI21006 dual-band power amp meets both code-division multiple-access (CDMA) and time-division multiple-access (TDMA) requirements. The device operates from 1850 to 1910 MHz and provides an output power of 28 dBm. The amp works directly from a four-cell NiCd or from a two-cell Li-ion battery. Band control is achieved through a single control pin. The RI21006 comes in a 16-pin SSOP and costs $15 (1000). Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, Newport Beach, CA. (714) 221-6996.

Controller IC complies with serial-bus specifications.

Intel's 82930A controller for PC peripherals complies with the plug-and-play and hot-swap capabilities defined by the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification Version 1.0. The controller lets PC peripherals and telephony products communicate with any USB-ready host system, such as those based on Intel 430VX/HX PCI chips. Operating at the both the full-speed USB data rate of 12 Mbps and the slower subchannel rate of 1.5 Mbps, the 12-MHz 8-bit device is feature- and instruction-set-compatible with the MCS 251 microcontroller. Housed in a 68-lead PLCC, the 82930A costs $6 (10,000). Intel Corp, Santa Clara, CA. (800) 628-8686.

RAMs form cache tag for PowerPC.

Offering address-to-match comparison times of 9, 10, and 12 nsec, two cache-tag RAMs help build level 2 caches for PowerPC µPs. The 16k×16-bit MPC-27T416 conforms to PowerPC platform specifications and the 16k×15-bit MPC-27T415 is pin-compatible with the IDT71216 cache-tag RAM. Both carry dual chip selects for expanding memory depth without lowering performance. The devices operate from a 5V supply with 3.3V I/O. In an 80-pin TQFP, the 9-nsec version of each part costs $28.88 (OEM). Motorola Microprocessor and Memory Technologies Group, Austin, TX. (512) 993-7726.

Vector modulator/ mixer comes in 16-pin SSOP.

The HPMX-2007 vector modulator/mixer suits digital transmitters in cellular, personal-communications-services, cordless, and wireless applications up to 4 GHz. The device comes in a 16-pin SSOP and operates over a voltage range of 2.7 to 5.5V. The device combines a vector modulator and a Gilbert cell mixer, as well as a 908 phase shifter. In standby mode, the IC draws <1 mA. Disabling the mixer to operate the modulator alone reduces current consumption to ;10 mA. The HPMX-2007 costs $4.15 (10,000). Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, CA. (800) 452-4844, ext 1496.

Eight-pin PWM controllers drive PMOS switches.

The UC3572 flyback PWM controller converts a positive input voltage ranging from 4.75 to 30V dc into a regulated negative output voltage. The UC3573 buck PWM controller steps down and regulates the same input voltage range to a lower value. Both of the voltage-mode devices drive external PMOS switches that can be tailored for specific load currents. Each device consists of a reference, an error amplifier, an oscillator, a PWM comparator with latching logic, and a 0.5A peak gate driver. Housed in plastic DIPs, the UC3572 and UC3573 cost $1.50 (1000). Unitrode Integrated Circuits Corp, Merrimack, NH. (603) 424-2410.

Charger IC accepts Li-ion, NiCd, and NiMH batteries.

The LT1510 battery charger IC offers the constant-voltage/ constant-current operation required by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, as well as the constant-current charging needed by NiCd and NiMH batteries. All you need to program charging current from milliamps to 1.5A is a single 1/10W resistor. An internal voltage reference is accurate to within 0.5%, and a 2A saturating power switch provides as much as 90% efficiency. The LT1510 operates over an input voltage range of 8 to 28V, handling all wall-adapter and automotive-battery inputs. Housed in an SO-8 package, the IC costs $4 (1000). Plastic DIP versions are also available. Linear Technology Corp, Milpitas, CA. (408) 432-1900.

Step-up converters suit battery-operated equipment.

Three step-up dc/dc converters use pulse-frequency modulation for efficient performance over wide battery voltage ranges and load conditions. Intended for applications involving two to four cells, the SC1630, SC1631, and SC1633 consume <10 µA in shutdown mode. Operating efficiency is as high as 90% with quiescent current ;160 µA. The SC1630 delivers a 5V default or adjustable output. The SC1631 has a fixed 3, 3.3, or 5V output with a 2A internal switch; the SC1633 offers the same fixed-output choices, but with a 0.8A switch. A fourth device, the SC1638, is for single-cell applications and provides a fixed 3V output. Respective prices for the 1630, 1631, 1633, and 1638 are $2.17, $1.90, $1.47, and $1.18 (100). Semtech Corp, Newbury Park, CA. (805) 498-2111.

Clock oscillator programs digitally.

If you use a parallel static digital word, you can program the M115 series of precision clock oscillators over a 40-MHz to 1-GHz frequency range with a 100-kHz resolution. Output jitter is <5 psec rms typ. The oscillators are stable to within 35 ppm and operate over a 0 to 70°C temperature range. Standard devices come in 24-pin double-wide ceramic DIPs. OEM pricing starts at <$100. Micro Networks Corp, Worcester, MA. (508) 852-5400.

Chip assists MPEG-1 decompression software.

An MPEG-1 accelerator chip supports both the vendor's MPEG Arcade Player decompression software and Microsoft's ActiveMovie multimedia architecture. The MX501 accelerates the compute-intensive tasks of the software decompression, resulting in full-motion video playback at 30 frames/sec, CD-quality audio, and very-low CPU utilization. Compatible with Windows 95, the IC provides on-chip logic for audio and video synchronization, as well as PCI-bus mastering. The part takes a single 70-nsec, 4-Mbit DRAM and comes in a 128-pin PQFP. In production quantities, the MX501 costs $23. Mediamatics Inc, Santa Clara, CA. (408) 496-6360.