RF Building Block

The RF Building Block range is designed to provide the flexible, high-performance ICs required for HF/VHF/UHF and professional radios, wireless data terminals, wireless microphones, marine and avionics radio systems.

The CMX971 is a high performance quadrature modulator featuring a wide operating frequency range, excellent modulation accuracy and low power consumption. The device can be programmed via a simple serial bus or working in ‘direct control’ mode, which does not require connection to a serial controller. In both modes programmable features include a local oscillator divider ratio (divide by 2 or 4) and linearity vs. noise optimisation. The device can operate over the RF output range of 20MHz – 1GHz with a power supply voltage of 3.0V – 3.6V.

The CMX971’s quadrature architecture supports a wide range of modulation formats and standards. The device provides translation from baseband I/Q signals to a modulated RF signal. The differential inputs are ideal for direct connection to standard modems and interface ICs such as CML’s CMX7163, CMX7164, CMX910, CMX981 and CMX7861.

The CMX971 is available now, comes in a very small, RF-optimised 16-lead VQFN package, measuring only 4mm x 4mm x 1mm. The device has minimal external components, making it ideal for space-constrained applications. The CMX971 offers the designer excellent performance, flexibility and fast time-to-market.