Micrel’s Next Generation RadioWire®
RF Transceiver Saves Space and Cost
  • … Smaller – Tiny 5x5mm MLF™ package
  • …Easier to use – No tuning, few external components
  • …Better – High sensitivity and high transmit power
SAN JOSE, Calif. – (May 14, 2004)

Micrel announces the next generation RadioWire® transceiver, the MICRF505, which has been designed to save space and cost while increasing performance and ease of use. It is also the first product resulting from the recent acquisition of Oslo, Norway-based BlueChip Communication AS, now known as Micrel Norway. Micrel (NASDAQ: MCRL) is an industry leader in analog, power management and high-speed communication integrated circuits.

The MICRF505 transceiver operates from 850MHz to 950MHz and supports frequency shift-keyed (FSK) modulation at data-rates up to 200kbps. Many functions are user programmable, including the frequency synthesizer, making the MICRF505 ideal for frequency hopping applications.

Reducing the overall size and lowering the total bill of materials (BOM) has been the primary objective in the design of this new transceiver. Through high integration, the number of external components has been reduced to just a few capacitors, an inductor and a crystal. Packaged in a 5mm x 5mm MLF™, the MICRF505 is designed to accommodate low-cost, low-accuracy crystals. To address this, Micrel has added a frequency error estimator to determine frequency mismatch between communicating transceivers and an internal crystal tuning mechanism to enable automated crystal tuning on-the-fly. The MICRF505 also incorporates an internal clock recovery circuit to reduce the burden on its companion baseband device enabling the use of a lower cost microcontroller.

"We are really focused on doing all we can to drive our customers’ system cost down to an absolute minimum," says Scott Brown, director of mixed-signal and RF products.

"Within the company we are referring to this as the ‘B.E.S.T.’ RF product, an acronym for Better, Easier, Smaller Transceiver," says Brown. "And we’ve pushed the envelope in all directions to produce a superior product in every respect: Best-in-class performance, best in-class-integration, easier to use and manufacture."

Stein Eskerud, managing director for Micrel Norway says "We have been working with Micrel on the co-development of the MICRF505 for some time and are very pleased to now be part of the Micrel family, and very excited with the release of this product. This new transceiver continues our leadership in wireless products and we expect a great deal of interest from the marketplace.”

The MICRF505 features high sensitivity, selectivity, and transmit power so RF performance is not sacrificed in the process of driving down the BOM cost. In fact by integrating the transmit/receive (T/R) switch there are no switch losses, making the system level RF performance even higher.

When the devices are purchased in a quantity of 1,000 pieces, pricing for the MICRF505 in the 5mm x 5mm MLF™ starts at $4.50. Samples are available, and production quantities are stock to 8 weeks ARO.

Summary of Specifications, Features & Applications: MICRF505 RadioWire® Transceiver Specifications

  • 850MHz – 950MHz operating range
  • -112dBm sensitivity (2.4kbps @ 10^-3 BER)
  • Output power programmable to +10dBm
  • FSK modulation
  • 200kbps maximum data-rate
  • Supply voltage from 2.0V to 2.5V
  • Supply current: 13mA in receive mode, 28mA in transmit mode

Features

  • High level of integration
  • Tiny 5x5mm MLF™ package
  • Integrated T/R switch
  • Integrated clock recovery circuit
  • Digital crystal trimming capability
  • Fully-programmable PLL for frequency hopping
  • Programmable transmit power

Applications

  • Industrial Automation
  • Automatic Meter Reading (AMR)
  • Home Automation
  • Telemetry
  • Security
  • Automotive

Micrel is a leading manufacturer of advanced, high performance communications, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver, mixed signal, analog and power ICs. These products include devices for fiber-optic telecommunications and networking, cellular telephones, servers, portable computer systems, computer peripherals, process control systems, consumer electronics and power supplies.

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RadioWire is a registered trademark of Micrel Inc.
MLF and MicroLead Frame are trademarks of Amkor Technology.

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