New Si468x FM Receivers Leverage Software-Defined Radio to Support HD
Radio™ and DAB/DAB+ for Portable and Home Audio Products
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Silicon
Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive,
mixed-signal ICs, today introduced the industry's first single-die
antenna-input-to-audio-output digital radio receiver solution developed
for the global portable and consumer electronics markets. Leveraging
software-defined radio technology, the new monolithic Si468x receiver
ICs bring FM, HD Radio™ and DAB/DAB+ broadcast capabilities to a wide
range of audio applications, from price-sensitive clock and tabletop
radios to mainstream mini/micro audio systems and CD boomboxes to
high-end multimedia devices with displays such as mobile phones, tablets
and personal navigation devices.
Digital radio technology is the next generation of radio broadcasting.
In addition to providing better audio quality than traditional AM/FM
radio, digital radio can transmit program information, weather
forecasts, news headlines, music artist and track names, traffic
information and other data. Digital radio adoption has been slow due in
part to the high cost of delivering a high-performance yet
power-efficient RF solution for the consumer electronics market. Silicon
Labs' Si468x family directly addresses the consumer digital radio market
by providing an advanced, single-die solution that reduces system
complexity, bill of materials (BOM) count and power consumption without
compromising RF performance.
Leveraging Silicon Labs' proven low-IF digital receiver architecture,
the Si468x family delivers superior RF performance compared to existing
consumer-grade digital radio solutions. The Si468x receivers support
auto-calibrated digital tuning and FM seek functionality based on
multiple signal quality and band parameters and provide flexible audio
processing features including noise blanking, configurable FM soft mute,
FM de-emphasis and FM hi-cut filtering.
The Si468x family enables developers to reduce system cost, size and
complexity by integrating most of the external components needed to
build a digital radio receiver system including the RF tuner, baseband
and stereo audio DACs. The family's wafer-level chip-scale package
(WLCSP) option supports very compact designs, enabling a complete
digital radio receiver system with only 12 external components to be
implemented in less than 100 square millimeters.
The Si468x receivers are engineered with small form factor designs in
mind. By integrating the RF tuner and baseband functions on a single
die, the Si468x family avoids radio self-interference and streamlines
system design, validation and testing. High integration simplifies board
layout, reduces board space requirements and enhances system stability,
making the receivers a good fit for on-board and small form factor
designs where performance, size and reliability are critical
considerations. Offering the smallest footprint and lowest power
consumption of any digital radio solution on the market (less than 60 mW
in analog FM mode and less than 95 mW in HD Radio and DAB/DAB+ modes),
the Si468x receivers are also an ideal choice for power- and
space-sensitive portable applications.
"Digital radio is the next wave of the broadcast audio industry,
enabling CD-quality sound for radio listeners and a host of innovative
broadcast data services," said James Stansberry, vice president and
general manager of Silicon Labs' broadcast products. "We've responded to
the needs of the global digital radio market by developing a
‘digital-radio-on-a-chip' solution that enables developers to reduce
implementation costs and simplify their portable and home audio product
designs while delivering the highest RF performance and sound quality to
consumers."
The Si468x receivers support worldwide analog FM radio reception and
incorporate an integrated decoder for the European Radio Data System
(RDS) and North American Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) standards
including required symbol decoding, block synchronization, error
detection and error correction functions. The Si468x family includes the
first truly monolithic digital radio receiver ICs certified by iBiquity
to support the HD Radio standard for portable and consumer electronics
applications. The Si468x receiver family is compatible with the European
Eureka 147 DAB and DAB+ standards and is designed to be fully compliant
with the United Kingdom's Minimum Specifications for DAB and DAB+
Personal and Domestic Digital Radio Receivers.
Pricing and Availability
Samples and production quantities of the Si468x digital radio receivers
are available now in two package options: a 7 mm x 7 mm 48-pin QFN
package and a tiny 3.2 mm x 3.8 mm WLCSP package that is ideal for
portable and space-constrained designs. Pricing for the Si468x receiver
family begins at $5.62 (USD) in 10,000-unit quantities. To ease digital
radio system design based on the Si468x family, Silicon Labs offers
comprehensive evaluation kits priced at $550.00 (USD MSRP). For more
information about Silicon Labs' Si468x digital radio receivers and to
purchase samples and development tools, please visit www.silabs.com/FMtuners.
Silicon Labs
Silicon Labs is an industry leader in the innovation of
high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a
world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal
design, Silicon Labs' diverse portfolio of patented semiconductor
solutions offers customers significant advantages in performance, size
and power consumption. For more information about Silicon Labs, please
visit www.silabs.com.
Cautionary Language
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on
Silicon Labs' current expectations. These forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
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refer to Silicon Labs' filings with the SEC. Silicon Labs disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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Silicon Labs
Dale Weisman, +1-512-532-5871
dale.weisman@silabs.com
Source: Silicon Labs
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