On May 13, 2015, Micrel Korea (CEO Young-Jun Oh, www.micrel.com)—Micrel, an industry leader in LAN, timing, and communications solutions as well as high-performance linear and power solutions—launched the MICRF229 and MICRF230, a family of 400 MHz to 450 MHz low-power super-heterodyne, image rejection, and OOK/ASK receiver products. Both devices feature a sensitivity of -112 dBm at a data transfer rate of 1 kbps and operate at 3.5 V to 5.5 V. Furthermore, current consumption is less than 6 mA even during continuous data reception, making them suitable for Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) and other low-power, low-data-rate applications, including garage door openers. MICRF229 and MICRF230 are currently being supplied as mass-produced products, and the price is $1.60 per 1,000 units. Samples can also be ordered online.

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Brian Hedayati, Vice President of Marketing for Linear and Power Solutions at Micrel, stated, “The global home automation and control market is experiencing steep growth,” and added, “This market requires security and lighting control, and Micrel’s new RF products are continuously responding to this explosively growing market based on low-power, low-cost, and robust RF solutions .”

The MICRF229 and MICRF230 can be implemented with only a single crystal and minimal external components. The MICRF229 features an Auto-Poll function that reduces power consumption to less than 0.5mW while the receiver is active and polls valid signals before the microcontroller is activated. Additionally, the MICRF230 features an additional Squelch function that disables data output until a valid bit is detected and keeps the microcontroller in a low-power shutdown mode to reduce power consumption, thereby consuming only 0.5uA of supply current. The MICRF229 and MICRF230 operate over a temperature range of -40°C to +105°C and are supplied in a 16-pin 49mm x 6.0mm QSOP package.