ANALOG DEVICES ANNOUNCES FIRST 3G RADIO CHIP
-- ADI partners with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation on development of radio chip featuring direct conversion
Norwood, MA (February 24, 2000) - Analog Devices, Inc. of Norwood, Mass. and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan announced today the development of a radio chip for use in Third-Generation (“3G”) cellular phones. The direct-conversion radio chip is used in cellular handsets for the W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access). Direct conversion, otherwise known as “zero IF,” eliminates the intermediate frequency section of traditional radio technologies. Direct conversion enables radio designers to take a high frequency or RF input signal directly to baseband or low frequencies, eliminating scores of components and significantly boosting efficiency. The savings in power consumption and cost are tremendous.
“We chose Analog Devices for this chip development because they have excellent analog designers and radio systems engineers,” said Dr. Kenji Itoh, section manager, Next-Generation Radio Terminal Development Department of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. “Our W-CDMA handset will be very competitive in the market due to the direct-conversion architecture. It will be smaller and lower cost than others.”
“Using direct conversion for demanding radio systems like GSM and W-CDMA requires expertise in analog design as well as a complete system understanding,” said Christian Kermarrec, vice president of RF and wireless systems at Analog Devices. “We are extremely pleased to have Mitsubishi as our partner in this development.”
This new integrated circuit is the second major direct-conversion radio solution announced by ADI in recent months. In September 1999, Analog Devices’ unveiled Othello™ GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communication/General Packet Radio Service), the world’s first direct conversion radio chipset. Othello recently won the “Product of the Year” award from Electronic Products magazine.
The new 3G radio chip, which will be described in detail in a paper at the RFIC Symposium in June, includes variable-gain amplifiers, baseband channel filters, and a wide-dynamic-range logarithmic amplifier for RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) detection. It consumes extremely low power, and is manufactured in Analog Devices’ BiCMOS process. In addition, the direct conversion architecture greatly simplifies the radio design, eliminating most of the expensive oscillators and filters required by conventional receivers.
About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With more than 75 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and construction. With operations in 34 countries, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation recorded consolidated group sales of over US$31 billion in 1999, 37% of which was from the Information, Telecommunication and Electronic Systems and Devices segment. Additional information on
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is available at www.mitsubishielectric.com.
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I would not consider Mitsubishi a tier one player, but the research cooperation link seems clear. The top three players are NOK, MOT, and ERICY. Not sure about the politicial nature of the delay. If I recall NOK had some license issues with QCOM over CMDA. I can not remember the details.
Jim |
