MaxLinear and Peregrine team on dual-RF-input DTV reference design

CARLSBAD & SAN DIEGO , USA : MXL, a leading provider of integrated RF and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, announced a collaboration with PSMI, founder of RF SOI and pioneer of advanced RF solutions, to produce a dual-RF-input DTV front-end reference design.

Television sets incorporating this dual-RF-input front end will support reception of both digital terrestrial TV and cable TV for seamless channel browsing.

The reference design pairs MaxLinear's MxL600 family of software-programmable, low power, global hybrid-television tuners with Peregrine's low-power PE42750 RF switch in a fully tested, end-to-end solution including complete schematics, bill of materials and the Gerber files required to quickly implement a high-performance DTV solution.

The new front-end design gives OEMs a way to respond to the ever-increasing demand for DTV. This demand is driven, in part, by countries like China, where the MIIT has mandated that all televisions 40 inches and larger must integrate digital terrestrial receivers as of Jan. 1, 2014. This digital-receiver mandate expands to every television after Jan. 1, 2015.

"We have worked closely with our customers to develop a reference design that will meet all of their needs - from using proven, high-performance devices to delivering a complete blueprint that eases design of digital-TV front ends:" said Brian Sprague, MaxLinear's VP and GM, broadband and consumer products. "Peregrine has been a key partner in this effort, providing RF switches that deliver the isolation required for reliable reception of both terrestrial and cable TV, now a necessity in China."

Technical Highlights

Peregrine's PE42750 is a 75-Ohm, SPDT RF switch for broadband consumer applications. Manufactured on Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology, the HaRP,enhanced device features high linearity and high isolation performance.

In compliance with the FCC 15.115 standard, these performance levels are maintained in the unpowered state to prevent reflected signals between the terrestrial antenna and cable feed.

This high level of isolation ensures reliable performance in consumer TV applications. The PE42750 covers a broad frequency range from 5 MHz to 2200 MHz, delivers low insertion loss and high ESD rating of 2000 V HBM on all ports.

"The PE42750 broadband switch leverages Peregrine's UltraCMOS technology and HaRP enhancements to deliver isolation performance that is critical for digital TV applications where multiple tuners are common;" said Mark Schrepferman, product line director for communication and industrial products at PSMI. "We are pleased to work with an industry leader like MaxLinear to bring these benefits to a reference-design platform that will simplify design for manufacturers bringing digital television sets to market."

The MxL600 family of tuners delivers exceptional performance for all global analog and digital television reception standards in cable and terrestrial reception environments. They offer market-leading, low power consumption of 350mW in typical applications.

The very low power consumption and compact 4 x 4 mm footprint in a standard 24-pin QFN package make it possible for customers to design ultra-small form factors and to support multi-tuner applications.

The software-configurable MxL600 devices allow manufacturers to design a common front-end for all global broadcast standards. Supported standards include: PAL, SECAM, NTSC, DVB-T/T2, ISDB-T, ISDB-Tmm, ATSC, ATSC M/H, DTMB, ITU-T J.83 Annex A,C.