All: Rockwell produce CDMA chipset;
Rockwell Opens CDMA and PCS Digital Cellular Market With First
Complete, Integrated Radio Solution
BUSINESS WIRE
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--Aug. 25, 1998--
Flexible Rf Subsystem Provides Low Power, Low
Cost and Rapid Time
to Market Solutions for Oems Interested in Single Mode or
Dual-band, Tri-mode Cellular Phones
In a move that will spur competition in the cellular phone IC market and
enable development of lower cost, high performance multi-mode and
multi-band phones, Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Tuesday introduced its
first chipset for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular
phones.
The chipset is the first complete, integrated radio frequency (RF) subsystem
for CDMA and CDMA Personal Communications System (PCS) digital
cellular phones with support for Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS)
analog cellular service, thus simplifying design requirements and speeding time
to market for cellular phone manufacturers.
The three-device chipset provides a low-cost, low-power transmit and receive
solution suitable for a wide range of CDMA-based cellular phones.
Applications include standard single-mode CDMA digital cellular phones,
dual-mode cellular CDMA/AMPS phones, and dual-band, triple-mode phones
that operate on Cellular CDMA, PCS CDMA and AMPS networks. The
chipset supports Cellular CDMA for U.S., Korean and Japanese networks in
addition to supporting PCS CDMA for both U.S. and Korean frequency
bands.
"Expansion into the CDMA market with a dual-band, multi-mode radio
subsystem solution is a logical next step for Rockwell, building upon our strong
customer base in power amplifiers for CDMA," said Vijay Parikh, vice
president and general manager for Rockwell's Wireless Communications
Division. "The flexible architecture of this new chipset strengthens the
momentum of today's rapidly growing CDMA market by enabling even more
OEMs to easily design a broad range of affordable cellular phones."
"The flexible architecture of this RF solution enables manufacturers to
implement triple-mode, dual-band phones that are competitive in cost and size
as well as in talk and standby time with single-mode CDMA phones," said Ray
Jodoin, senior analyst, wireless communications, for Cahners In-[ Stat Group ]
. "CDMA networks in Asia, Japan and the United States are experiencing
tremendous growth, and innovative solutions like this new chipset from
Rockwell can help maintain momentum for this popular cellular standard."
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems' three-device chipset includes the RF250
receiver, the RF251 transmitter and RF252 CDMA Baseband Analog
Processor. These three devices, combined with a power amplifier, provide a
complete transmit and receive solution for cellular phones that support
CDMA, AMPS and PCS1900 modes.
The highly-integrated RF250 incorporates all of the components required to
implement the receiver front end and intermediate frequency (IF) portions of
the phone. It includes two Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), one for 800 MHz
operation to support AMPS and CDMA800 modes, and one to support the
1900 MHz PCS band.
The 1900 MHz LNA can also be configured for Korean PCS frequencies.
The device integrates separate mixers for AMPS, CDMA 800 MHz and PCS
bands; a single IF Variable Gain Amplifier with a gain control range of over 90
dB, two VHF oscillators, and an In-Phase and Quadrature (I/Q) demodulator.
The noise figure, and gain of each stage of the receiver chip are optimized to
meet the system requirements for AMPS and CDMA modes according to the
IS-98 and ANSI J-STD-018 (PCS).
The receiver is packaged in a 48-pin TQFP and features power operation as
low as 60 milliamps (mA) for realizing the entire receive chain from antenna
to I/Q output in certain modes.
The RF251 includes an In-Phase and I/Q modulator, two IF Voltage
Controller Oscillators (VCOs), an IF Automatic Gain Control amplifier with a
90 dB gain control range, two upconverters with RF gain control, and two
drivers for external power amplifiers. To compensate for gain variation of
off-chip components of the phone, a 14 dB gain control is provided in the
upconverter stage. To conserve power, the power amplifier drivers and the
upconverters are deactivated when the phone is not transmitting. The
transmitter is packaged in a 48-pin TQFP, and features low power operation
of 95 mA for I/Q to buffer driver functionality.
The RF252 provides an interface between the RF section and the digital
processing circuitry of the telephone. The receive section processes analog
baseband I/Q signals, performs channel selection low-pass filtering, and
converts the analog baseband signals into digital signals. The transmit function
provides the reverse functionality. The device includes on-chip clock synthesis
and processing circuits, general purpose analog/digital conversions for battery
and signal monitoring, and two fully programmable Phase Locked Loop (PLL)
synthesizers, and mode control logic for transmit, receive, sleep and idle
modes.
In addition to the RF250, RF251 and RF252, Rockwell also offers other
CDMA RF device sets that are optimized for a variety of different RF system
configurations.
Rockwell provides a broad range of engineering, design and test services to
support OEMs efforts to successfully market their products in the shortest
time possible. These services include complete system design and integration,
as well as assistance in meeting requirements for certification and testing to
meet industry standards for CDMA phones.
The three device chipset, including the RF250 receiver, RF251 transmitter and
RF252 CDMA Baseband Analog Processor is available now, priced at $35 in
quantities of 10,000 units.
Based in Newport Beach, Rockwell Semiconductor Systems is a leading
worldwide provider of semiconductor system solutions for personal
communications electronics products used in personal computing, network
access, personal imaging, wireless communications and digital infotainment.
These product platforms offer a variety of technology convergence
opportunities and each leverages the company's 30-year mixed-signal
computing heritage in such key areas as signal-processing algorithms, signal
conversion, and communications protocols. For more information, visit the
Rockwell Semiconductor Systems Web site at rss.rockwell.com.
Rockwell (NYSE:ROK) is a global electronic controls and communications
company with leadership positions in industrial automation, avionics and
communications, and electronic commerce. In late June, Rockwell announced
that it planned to spin off to shareowners its Semiconductor Systems business
at calendar year end. Rockwell's continuing businesses will have projected
fiscal 1998 sales of approximately $7 billion and 38,000 employees.
(Copyright 1998)
_____via IntellX_____
Publication Date: August 25, 1998
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