Really Tiny FM Tuners for Mobile Phones and Portable Audio Devices

The Si4702/03 devices are available in a tiny 3 x 3 x 0.55 mm package, reducing printed circuit board (PCB) area to 10 mm2, a reduction of 75 percent compared to competitive offerings. Silicon Laboratories’ FM tuners are ideal for cellular phones, MP3/media players, stand-alone FM radios and a variety of other portable devices where performance, low power consumption and a small footprint are essential.

“Our first products in this area have been extremely successful, and we’re continuing to build on that success and widen the competitive gap through relentless integration,” said Tyson Tuttle, vice president of Silicon Laboratories. “The Si4702/03 second-generation FM tuners offer the smallest, easiest, most cost-effective and feature-rich FM solutions on the market. Our innovative FM radios are enabling the industry trend to integrate radio functionality onto handsets where music and media features are becoming standard in a variety of models, including entry level phones.”

With FM radios being increasingly integrated into handsets and portable devices, performance, integration and size become critical as they impact both the customer experience and the ultimate cost of the product. To deliver unmatched performance, Silicon Laboratories’ FM radio tuners leverage a patented, field-proven, low-IF digital architecture and embedded processor technology, reducing cost and enabling superior sound quality performance and adjustability in critical FM receiver specifications. The Si4702/03 devices offer industry-leading selectivity and sensitivity as well as easily adjustable seek, soft mute and blend, all of which are fundamental to superior performance in highly variable FM broadcast environments.

The Si4703 addresses feature-rich devices by offering additional detection and processing of the Radio Data Service (RDS) and Radio Broadcast Data Service (RBDS) information. The Si4703 enables data such as the station ID and song name to be displayed to the user. The Si4702/03 FM tuners are software driver compatible with the Si4700/1 FM tuners.

The Si4702 and Si4703 are available in a compact 3 x 3 x 0.55 mm 20-pin quad flat no-lead (QFN) package. Pricing for the Si4702 is $2.60 in quantities of 10K. Pricing for the Si4703 is $2.99 in quantities of 10K. Volume production is expected in the fourth quarter of 2006. An evaluation board is available for $150. For more information on the FM Tuner products, please visit www.silabs.com/fmtuners.