Analog Front-end Designed for Narrowband OFDM PLC

Maxim Integrated Products’ MAX2991 integrated analog front-end (AFE) is designed for OFDM power line communications (PLC), and reduces total AFE cost by more than 50 percent as compared to earlier discrete versions. The MAX2991’s transmit path includes a digital IIR filter followed by a 10-bit DAC, lowpass filter, and predriver; the receive path includes a lowpass filter, highpass filter, two-stage automatic gain control, and 10-bit ADC.

The integrated AGC maximizes the dynamic range of the signal up to 60dB, allowing low-level signal detection in long-range communication applications, as well as the ability to cross medium-to-low voltage transformers. The lowpass filter removes any out-of-band noise and selects the desired frequency band to meet the new smart-grid requirements.

Maxim Integrated Products