300 to 400MHz IC replacement for discrete RF receivers

Micrel Semiconductor has launched the MICRF008 RF receiver; a low-cost receiver that eliminates the need for production tuning.

The MICRF008 is the latest addition to Micrel's family of QwikRadio receivers. Intended as a replacement for superregen receivers, performance has been tailored to meet the needs of cost-conscious applications. This device is said to be the lowest-cost member of Micrel's QwikRadio family and, like all QwikRadio products, it achieves even lower cost of ownership by offering higher integration than competing IC solutions.

By incorporating a patented sweep mode, the MICRF008 has been designed to work with cheap, low accuracy transmitters. Sweep-mode enables these superheterodyne receivers to sweep a relatively wide RF bandwidth, in effect emulating the wide capture bandwidth of a superregen receiver.

"All QwikRadio receivers provide higher integration and lower cost of ownership than competing IC solutions, yet many manufacturers of the lowest cost applications continue to use discrete solutions despite their inherent problems associated with production trimming and long-term performance drift," says Scott Brown, business unit manager. "The MICRF008 is our response to the needs of those manufacturers.

The MICRF008 comes in 8-pin SOIC packaging. $1.29 (1000).

Micrel Semiconductor
Fax 1-408-944-0970
www.micrel.com