Out in Front: November 23, 1995

A family of RF and IF ICs from Thesys Microelectronics provides designers with essential wireless functions for a variety of applications. The ICs include a 350-MHz IF-to-baseband transceiver, which incorporates receive and transmit I/Q modulation and demodulation, along with on-chip synthesis (TH7150); a dual 4-bit, 80M-sample/sec A/D converter for set-top boxes (TH7124); a dual-channel, four-pole Butterworth filter with adjustable 1- to 20-MHz cutoff and variable in-band gain (TH7301); and a channel synthesizer for Global System for Mobile and Digital European cordless-telephone applications (TH7010).

A fifth device, the TH7100, is an amplitude-shift-keying transmitter that accepts a CMOS data input up to 1 Mbps and delivers a 4-mW output into a 50V load. It requires only an external frequency-setting crystal and loop-filter capacitor for operation from 250 to 500 MHz. Applications for this unlicensed device include keyless entry systems, wireless-alarm-sensor interconnection, and remote telemetry. The IC, which operates from 2.7 to 4V and consumes 12 mA in transmit mode and less than 1 mA in standby mode, comes in a 14-lead SO package and costs $2 (100,000). Alfaro Co is the US distributor of the products.
-- by Bill Schweber

Alfaro Co, San Francisco, CA. (415) 563-4769.

Thesys Microelectronics, Erfurt, Germany. +49-361-427-8330.