Multimode Transceiver Eliminates SAW Filters

Oct. 22, 2009
This highly integrated wireless transceiver module offers an innovative SAW-less front end and standard programmable 3G DigRF interface to cover a wide range of 3G standards.

Wireless device designers seek increased functionality but without added size, especially when supporting handset designs with multimode, multiple-band capabilities. Fujitsu Microelectronics America has responded to the needs of these designers with the functionpacked model MB86L01A multimode third-generation (3G) cellular radio transceiver, which is fabricated without 3G transmit and receive interstage surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) filters and receive low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), yet sacrifices nothing in terms of performance compared to fully packed transceiver architectures.

The highly integrated model MB86L01A 3G transceiver module (see figure) supports the design of Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) wideband-code-division-multiple- access (WCDMA)/EGPRS wireless handsets. It is compatible with a wide range of baseband architectures via a high-level programming model that controls the radio using the 3G DigRF/ MIPI open-standard digital interface.

The transceiver module provides six output ports for a handset's transmitter section, with the capability of driving transmit power amplifiers (PAs) directly, eliminating the need for transmit SAW filters. The transceiver module also includes seven differential inputs to the handset's receiver section, in support of WCDMA and GSM/EDGE systems.

Model MB86L01A measures just 7.1 x 5.9 x 1.0 mm and is fabricated with a 90-nm CMOS process. In addition to its novel RF front end, the transceiver module also incorporates anti-aliasing filters, digital channel filters, digital gain control and high dynamic range analogto- digital converters (ADCs).

The transceiver relies on a standard programming API and is supplied in a 142-pin, 0.5-mm pitch LGA housing. Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Inc., 1250 E. Arques Ave., Mail Stop 333, Sunnyvale, CA 94085-5401; (800) 866-8608, FAX: (408) 737-5999, e-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.us.fujitsu.com/micro.

About the Author

Jack Browne | Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.

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