Chip promises compact GSM radio solution

Analog Devices has unveiled a chip that shrinks the radio in cellular telephones to as little as 1.5cm2.

Building on its heritage in RF technology innovation and wireless systems design expertise, Analog Devices has unveiled a chip that shrinks the radio in cellular telephones to as little as 1.5cm2.

The new Othello-G radio chip for GSM/GPRS communications enabled a fully functional reference design with approximately 75% fewer components than its previous version and enabling a complete quad-band radio that is 30% smaller than anything available on the market.

The Othello-G radio supports full quad-band operation and integrates virtually all the necessary components for a complete cellular handset radio design such as voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) and the associated tank circuits, PLL loop filters and power management.

"Othello-G enables the most compact GSM radio solution the industry has seen to date", said Christian Kermarrec, Vice President, RF and Wireless Systems, Analog Devices "With more than 15 years of GSM wireless handset and RF design expertise, Analog Devices has achieved another important advancement in direct conversion radio technology - the technology adopted by the cellular industry as best-suited to GSM/GPRS applications".

Kermarrec also added: "Because GSM is the world's most dominant cellular standard, it is more important than ever for the cellular industry to continue looking for ways to lower development costs".

"In established cellular regions, there is a need to lower the cost of adding new wireless features quickly, while in emerging cellular market segments it is important to ensure the availability of low-cost handsets to support continued growth".

"We believe our handset customers will be able to achieve significant BOM savings with the Othello-G radio".

Analog Devices Othello-G radio (part number AD6548) is a single-chip solution combining all the radio and power management functions for an ultracompact, cost-effective GSM/GPRS radio.

The only external components required for a complete radio design are the receive SAW (surface acoustic wave) filters, power amplifier, transmit/receive switch and a few passives.

Othello-G features four fully integrated programmable gain differential LNAs (low-noise amplifiers) for full quad-band (GSM850/900/1800/1900) support.

Othello-G uses a single integrated LO (local oscillator) VCO (voltage control oscillator) for both receive and transmit circuits.

The synthesiser lock times are optimised for GPRS applications up to and including class 12.

To dramatically reduce the radio BOM, the synthesiser integrates a loop filter and incorporates a complete reference crystal calibration system.

ADI's Othello-G radio is available now.

The new Othello-G radio also complements Analog Devices' family of SoftFone baseband chipsets for wireless terminals.

ADI's SoftFone chipsets are entirely RAM-based, thereby providing handset manufacturers with the flexibility to support changes in cellular standards and/or customise features and options for a wide range of phones by simply changing software and without the need to add new hardware.

Together, SoftFone and Othello enable substantial BOM savings while maintaining flexibility, providing benefits to handset manufacturers and operators.

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