New RF Transceivers Advance Design and Deployment of Small 4G Base Stations

Analog Devices, (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, is adding to its broad RF portfolio with the announcement today of new integrated RF-to-digital baseband transceivers. The AD9356 and AD9357 integrated transceivers advance low-cost base-station designs and deployments for 4G technology, such as WiMAX and LTE (long term evolution). The deployment of WiMAX continues in both developed and developing nations to provide last-mile connectivity and wireless backhaul channels. As a result, the need for ubiquitous coverage and a high degree of spectral efficiency requires operators and base-station manufacturers to deploy greater numbers of smaller picocells and microcells to increase network capacity.

According to recent industry reports, WiMAX equipment revenue, including fixed and mobile WiMAX base stations, CPE, and other devices, will reach over $59 billion during 2012 with cumulative revenue totaling over $150 billion from 2006 through 2012. The total number of WiMAX base-station shipments, which includes picocells and microcells, is expected to reach nearly $3 million by 2012. Analyst reports also say LTE subscribership could reach 72 million by 2013 and that the total LTE infrastructure market, including enhanced NodeBs and EPC (evolved packet core) equipment, is set to top $5 billion in 2013.

"Today’s WiMAX and LTE infrastructure equipment generally rely on a multitude of discrete components, often exceeding power budgets while missing time-to-market goals,” said Tom Gratzek, product line director, WiMAX Transceiver Group, Analog Devices. "Typical picocell base-station transceivers comprise six to eight active components, while microcell base stations can easily require double this component count. Designs that exploit ADI’s new AD9356 and AD9357 integrated transceivers can reduce the component count for a 2x2 transceiver to a single device, while cutting power consumption by at least 50 percent.”

Furthermore, using a single transceiver across multiple base-station platforms (picocell and microcell) greatly simplifies the hardware design cycle. The new transceivers’ configurability allows designers to develop and maintain configurable software to support multiple platforms (i.e. operators, transmit power levels, frequency bands, channel bandwidth). This flexibility, when combined with industry-leading RF performance, can significantly speed time-to-market and translate into more than 50 percent BOM (bill-of-material) savings.

About the AD9356 and AD9357 WiMAX Transceivers

The AD9356 and AD9357 transceivers integrate 12-bit ADCs, DACs, complete RF-receive and RF-transmit signal chains, and on-chip frequency synthesizers. Embedded real-time control and calibration loops significantly reduce factory calibration and test times. The new transceivers combine easily to support beamforming applications and include two complete receivers, as well as two complete transmitters for the support of MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) deployments. The transmitter’s signal-to-noise ratio provides support for picocells and microcells from +13 dBm up to +36 dBm output power at the antenna port, while meeting the demanding requirements for 4G base stations. Designers can optimize receiver performance by configuring the transceivers to use a flexible, on-chip AGC (automatic gain control) algorithm. The transceivers include hooks for using incumbent baseband-controlled AGC.

The AD9356 and AD9357 transceivers support the 2.3-to-2.7-GHz and 3.3-to-3.8-GHz ranges, respectively, covering existing WiMAX bands and channel bandwidths of 3.5, 4.375, 5, 7, 8.75 and 10 MHz. An excellent noise figure of 3 dB and best-in-class linearity, enable the devices to achieve optimum real-world performance as WiMAX/WiBro and LTE network traffic increases. ADI’s proprietary "smart-partitioning” architecture supports autonomous AGC, TPC (transmit power control), and calibration routines that reduce dramatically the RF driver development effort. Additionally, the transceivers feature an innovative factory calibration technique that presents significant savings in final test costs and in design time. The AD9356 and AD9357 take one-eighth the time to calibrate as compared to competing devices, and the highly-accurate closed-loop power control delivers 1-point factory calibration of transmit power as compared to alternative transceivers that require eight to ten calibration points.

Availability and Complementary Products

The AD9356 and AD9357 transceivers are housed in 10-mm x 10-mm CSP BGA packaging and are available in sample quantities now. They are compatible with ADI’s ultra-low jitter clock distribution and clock generation products as well as ADI’s low-noise amplifiers, such as the ADL5521 and ADL5523. For more information, visit: http://www.analog.com/pr/AD9356 or http://www.analog.com/pr/AD9357.

ADI’s RF IC Portfolio Covers Entire RF Signal Chain

Using a unique combination of design skills, system understanding, and process technologies, Analog Devices offers the broadest portfolio of RF ICs covering the entire RF signal chain. Individual devices range from industry-leading, high-performance RF function blocks to highly-integrated, short-range, and WiMAX transceivers. The RF function blocks include DDS and PLL synthesizers; TruPwr™ power detectors and logarithmic amplifiers; X-Amp® VGAs; power amplifiers, LNAs and other RF amplifiers, mixers, and direct-conversion modulator and demodulator products. For more information, visit: http://www.analog.com/pr/rf.

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the longest standing, highest growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data-conversion and signal-conditioning technologies, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers, representing virtually all types of electronic equipment. Celebrating over 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog- and digital-signal processing applications, Analog Devices is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, with design and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "ADI” and is included in the S&P 500 Index. www.analog.com/