Micrel Semiconductor Intros MICRF008 RF Receiver

Micrel Semiconductor Inc. (San Jose, CA), a leader in power management and high-speed communications integrated circuits, announced its new MICRF008 RF receiver, a low-cost alternative to discrete superregen receivers 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.

The new device is 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 all competing IC solutions. By incorporating a patented sweep mode, the MICRF008 has been designed to work with the cheapest, low-accuracy transmitters. Sweep-mode enables these super-heterodyne receivers to sweep a relatively wide RF bandwidth, in effect emulating the wide capture bandwidth of a superregen receiver.

In 1,000-piece quantities, the MICRF008 in eight-pin SOIC packaging is priced at $1.29 each. Samples are from stock, and an evaluation board is available.