Single-Chip RF Front Ends Are Highly Integrated

Two highly integrated single-die, single-chip solutions for Bluetooth, WLAN, Zigbee, and MIMO designs are the first RF front-end integrated circuits (RFeICs), according to the manufacturer. The RFX2401 targets Bluetooth Class 1 and Single-Port Zigbee applications. The chip integrates the power amplifier, LNA, transmit and receive switching circuitry, the associated matching network, and the harmonic filter in a BiCMOS device. The front end’s superior performance, high sensitivity and efficiency, low noise, small form factor, and low cost make it well-suited for applications requiring extended range and bandwidth with a potential 10x range increase. With an integrated power-detect circuit, the RFX2401 requires only one external power supply capacitor and the desired band-pass filter for the TX-RX port. Featuring the same architecture and features as the RFX2401, the RFX 2402 WLAN RFeIC is designed for use in 802.11x and Dual-Port Zigbee applications operating at 2.4 GHz. The device is especially suited for single-antenna applications or for use as the building block in MIMO applications. The RFX2402 also requires the same minimal external components as the RFX2401. The RFX2401and RFX2402 are sampling now. RFAXIS INC., Irvine, CA. (949) 336-1360.