News & Events
Intersil’s New PRISM II RF/IF Converter With LNA and Synthesizer Now in Production

One of five ICs in PRISM II WLAN® Chip Set
Incorporates on-board, low-noise amplifier and synthesizer

PALM BAY, FL, September 12, 1999—Intersil today announced the availability of a new RF/IF converter with an integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA), programmable synthesizer and image rejection filters. The high integration and high performance of the IC is the result of Intersil design expertise coupled with advanced silicon germanium (SiGe) fabrication technology. The HFA3683A RF/IF Converter and Synthesizer delivers 11 megabit per second performance and, as one of two front-end devices in Intersil’s next-generation PRISM II chip, contributes toward lower system costs, 50 percent power savings and a better overall feature set for wireless networking applications. This device is available now and is in full production.

"The emerging wireless networking markets demand fast performance to deliver multimedia content over wireless links," said Chris Henningsen, vice president of marketing and co-leader of Intersil’s PRISM Wireless Products business. "However, these products must be affordably priced. We’re developing new generations of our popular PRISM chipset about every nine months to address that demand. Each new generation will jam more features and functionality into fewer chips, which use less power and drive manufacturing costs down. This new device is further evidence of that continuing effort."

The HFA3683A is a monolithic, half-duplex RF/IF transceiver designed for operation in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. It features a low noise, gain-selectable receive amplifier (LNA) followed by a down-converter mixer in the receive chain. An up-converter mixer and a high performance, pre-amplifier form the transmit chain.

The HFA3683A also integrates a high frequency Phase Locked Loop (PLL) synthesizer with a three-wire programmable interface for local oscillator applications. Only one IF filter is needed because the receive and transmit paths are multiplexed and share a common differential matching network. Another cost benefit results from the integration of image rejection filters in the device. This allows both transmit and receive RF amplifiers to be directly connected to mixers.

The cascaded LNA/Mixer (high gain) delivers a gain of 23 dB, SSB Noise Figure of 3.7 dB and handles IF frequencies from 280 – 600 MHz. The low gain cascaded LNA/Mixer delivers gain of –5 dB from Input (P1dB) of +2.5 dBm, handling the same 280 – 600 MHz range. For the transmit side, the cascaded mixer/pre-amplifier delivers 26 dB gain with 10 dB SSB Noise Figure and an Output (P1dB) of 6 dB. It, too, handles 280 – 600 MHz. The HFA3683A operates from single supply (2.7 V to 3.3 V) and features a power management /standby mode.

The HFA3683A is well suited for a variety of wireless applications including wireless local area networks (WLANs), PCMCIA wireless transceivers, ISM systems, TDMA packet protocol radios, wireless local loop systems and building-to-building wireless bridges.

Packaging, Availability and Pricing
The HFA3683A is available in a 64-lead TQFP package – well suited for Type II PCMCIA board applications – or on Tape and Reel. It is priced at $5.68 in 100K quantities. For more information on the HFA3683A – including a complete data sheet – or the other ICs in the PRISM family, visit Intersil’s Web site at www.intersil.com/prism.

The SiGe BiCMOS process used to fabricate the HFA3683A provides high performance with low power consumption, allowing very high integration of RF circuits combined with good digital CMOS density. Intersil’s design expertise fully exploits SiGe’s deep trench isolation process, maximizing the attendant benefits of noise-reduction and circuit isolation to yield very high-density, high-performance RF designs. PRISM II chips are designed to lead the industry in integration, performance and power consumption to give OEM customers the competitive edge in value vs. cost for a variety of WLAN applications.

Adoption of PRISM Technology
Since introducing the PRISM WLAN chip set in 1996, over forty companies have incorporated PRISM chips in more than 100 product designs. PRISM technology is designed to comply with the IEEE’s 802.11 global standard and Intersil plans to introduce better performing, more highly-integrated chipset solutions roughly every nine months. PRISM chips are used in WLAN systems from industry leading companies including Compaq, Nokia, Siemens, 3Com, Nortel, Samsung, Zoom Telephonics, Aironet and SpectraLink.

About PRISM II
Intersil’s PRISM II Chip Set is the world’s most complete silicon solution for the design of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Comprised of five highly integrated ICs incorporating advanced silicon germanium (SiGe) and sub-micron CMOS technology, PRISM II delivers all the required analog and digital circuitry for the PHY and MAC layers, providing a complete, "Antenna-to-Computer™" solution for high-data rate WLANs. PRISM II has been chosen by the world’s leading telecom, networking and computer companies as a key part of high performance wireless products for home or office.

About Intersil Corporation
Intersil Corporation uses analog, mixed-signal, power and radiation-hardening technologies to develop advanced integrated circuits and discrete semiconductors for high-growth segments of the communications, power and space/defense markets. Intersil Corporation employs 5,800 worldwide and utilizes the rich intellectual property heritage from Harris, GE Solid State and RCA. The company’s Web site is located at http://www.intersil.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Specific risks include worldwide demand and product pricing for integrated circuits, and reductions in the U.S. and worldwide defense and space budgets. In addition, Intersil cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends and events to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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PRISM is a registered trademark of Intersil Corporation.