RF Micro Devices Inc. unveiled an enhanced Polaris Total Radio transceiver with quad-band and direct conversion capabilities.

The solution is a highly integrated radio transceiver for GSM and GPRS applications. The chipset performs all functions associated with the RF section of a handset and provides handset manufacturers the benefits of reduced component count, flexible baseband interfaces and lower cost of implementation. The transceiver is comprised of the RF6001 mixed-signal processor, the RF3133 PA with integrated power control and one of two new receivers — the RF2710 or the RF2716 (the RF2716 offers a direct conversion mode, supporting E-GPRS receive capability). The quad-band transceiver supports the U.S. cellular (850 MHz), GSM (900 MHz), DCS (1800 MHz) and PCS (1900 MHz) frequency bands and consists of the following components:

• RF2710 or RF2716 — The SiGe BiCMOS quad-band receivers feature a polyphase down-converting mixer, a bandpass filter and DC offset correction.

• RF6001 — The CMOS mixed signal processor includes digital channel filters, a fractional-N frequency synthesizer, a digital GMSK modulator and an integrated power ramp DAC.

• RF3133 — A second-generation PowerStar PA modules with integrated power control circuitry, using GaAs HBT and silicon CMOS technologies and features internal matching components.

The transceiver exceeds all ETSI specification requirements and features enhanced receiver sensitivity, as well as the ability to handle EDGE-modulated signals. Driven by high levels of integration in both the transmit and receive functions, the Polaris transceiver reduces the number of components required to implement a complete GSM/GPRS radio. All VCOs, associated loop filters, and many of the power supply bypass capacitors are integrated on silicon, significantly reducing the complete radio component count. The transceiver offers both very low intermediate frequency and direct conversion modes of operation, eliminating all IF SAW filters.

The transceiver includes a fractional-N-based digital modulator for reduced power consumption. The chipset is compatible with all major baseband devices and also provides selectable digital baseband interfaces on both the receive and transmit paths enabling direct interface to emerging digital baseband products.
RF Micro Devices Inc.
www.rfmd.com