News & Events
Intersil CommLink Programmable Digital Down Converter Offers Design Flexibility
-- Four independent channels on a single chip~-- Replaces more expensive analog and programmable logic devices
IRVINE, CA, February 26, 2002 Intersil (NASDAQL: ISIL), a leading developer of silicon technology for integrated communications applications, announced today availability of the ISL5216 four-channel digital down converter. The latest addition to Intersils CommLink family of software defined radio (SDR) circuits, the ISL5216 is a flexible and cost-effective device designed for high dynamic range applications, such as cellular basestations, where the processing of multiple channels is required in a small physical space. The new converter can be used in wideband and narrowband applications and supports all protocols and standards, including third-generation (3G) wireless protocols.
Performing the functions of down conversion, filtering, non-integer resampling and automatic gain control (AGC), the ISL5216 is a cost-effective solution for communications system designers. The converters fully integrated and flexible quad programmable down converter (PDC) receives incoming wideband and narrowband signals from high-speed analog-to-digital converters. Located between the analog-to-digital converter and the baseband processor, the device tunes, filters and decimates the signal from intermediate frequency (IF) to baseband.
The CommLink ISL5216 delivers flexibility to communications system designers who are trying to meet todays standards as well as 3G requirements, said Juan Garcia, marketing director of CommLink products at Intersil. Intersils new four-channel digital down converter has been engineered to not only meet requirements, but to be a versatile device that cost-effectively meets the needs of designers. Through the devices high dynamic range and flexibility in input and output routing, Intersil demonstrates its ability to deliver the flexibility that communications systems designers demand.
With the CommLink ISL5216, designers have great flexibility in input and output routing to the filter compute engine (FCE). The FCE allows the user to design and program the filters in many different ways. Designers can program up to 32 instructions per channel, with each instruction being a different filter. The signal routing options allow the user to extend the bandwidth by polyphasing or cascading the channel filters. Depending on application requirements, the output rate can be adjusted through the interpolation half band filters and non-integer re-samplers in the back end of the device.
Technical Information
Intersils CommLink ISL5216 features a 24-bit internal data path. As a result, Intersils higher-resolution device does not introduce as many quantization errors as lower-resolution solutions. The device is also the only down converter on the market to offer an internal digital AGC with a range of 0-96 dB, greatly reducing the complexity of the baseband processor.
The CommLink ISL5216 features an input sample rate of up to 95 MHz. This allows improved performance as higher input rates enable the design of longer filter impulse responses, resulting in better filters or processing at higher bandwidths. The device also functions at significantly lower power (2.5 V core, 3.3 V IO's), about 1.4 W with all four channels fully utilized at 80 MHz. Spurious-free dynamic range of the carrier numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) is greater than 115 dB, providing exceptional performance even for signals of very low power. The resampling feature allows non-integer input to output rates after channel filtering, greatly simplifying the interface to and requirements of baseband processors.
About CommLink Products
Intersil develops and markets SDR infrastructure integrated circuits including digital up- and down-converters and data conversion devices that are designed to accommodate all current and next-generation protocols, including GSM, IS-136 TDMA, EDGE, IS-95 CDMA, 3G and AMPS. Intersils SDR technology also addresses the stringent needs of the smart antenna application within the cellular marketplace that addresses the frequency capacity limitations that are inherent in current base station cellular technology. For further information, visit Intersils CommLink website at http://www.intersil.com/design/commlink. About Intersil
Intersil is a global leader in designing innovative wireless networking and high performance analog solutions that enable wireless access to video, data and voice in homes, offices and public places. Creating advanced power management products, Intersil provides reliable solutions for file servers, portable information appliances and over half of all computer microprocessors manufactured today. With a rich high performance analog and mixed signal portfolio, Intersil brings added value in providing complete silicon, software and reference design solutions to new products that bring portable connectivity to people wherever they live, work or travel. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Intersil has offices in cities throughout the US, Europe and Asia. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the company's Web site and career page at: www.intersil.com
CommLink is a trademark of Intersil Corporation.
