Greensboro, North Carolina–RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD), a provider of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, has announced the availability of the RF2460 LNA/mixer–a complete receiver front-end chip for the PCS CDMA market.

“Using silicon germanium (SiGe) technology to design a low-current and low-cost receiver front-end solution, we are able to meet the stringent requirements for PCS CDMA handsets and provide a high level of performance in a very small package,” says Michael Coady, marketing manager for digital cellular products at RFMD. “The RF2460 can be used as a stand-alone product for single-mode PCs handsets or as a companion to the previously released RF2461 cellular CDMA receiver front-end for use in dual-band handsets.”

The RF2460 is a 3.0V complete receiver front-end with gain, noise figure, and IIP3 specifications designed to be compatible with the IS-98B standards for CDMA PCS handsets. The IC amplifies and downconverts RF signals while providing 29 dB of stepped gain control range, and features digital control of LNA gain, mixer gain, and power-down mode. The chip also features adjustable IIP3 of the LNA and mixer using an off-chip resistor. In maximum gain mode, the cascaded performance of the RF2460 is 25 dB gain, and 2.2 dB noise figure using only 26mA of current.

The unit is priced at $1.89 in quantities of 10,000 or more. Samples and fully assembled evaluation boards are available now from RFMD, with production quantities available early in the second quarter of 2001.