Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB, Country Manager Jong-Chan Lee), a global leader in high-performance analog-intensive mixed-signal ICs, announced today the industry's best automotive tuner IC family designed to deliver superior RF performance with advanced signal processing technology while lowering the cost and complexity of car audio systems. Targeting the global car radio market and offering the best price-to-performance ratio, the new Si476x tuner family is the best-in-class multiband receiver solution for automotive infotainment head units and AM/FM car radios for manufacturers of all tiers, from major suppliers to aftermarket car radio producers.

According to global market intelligence firm JD Power & Associates, shipments of light vehicles in the global automotive market are projected to exceed 76 million units this year. The car radio technology installed in these vehicles is evolving rapidly as innovations in communication technology drive the rapid growth of the in-vehicle infotainment market. Moving beyond basic functions, car radio has transformed into a sophisticated infotainment system featuring FM phase diversity reception, Radio Data System (RDS) data reception for information navigation systems, support for AM/FM HD radio technology, and multi-tuners to provide detailed station quality indicators for active broadcast content. Such robust broadcasting performance requires innovative semiconductor technology that enables consumers to enjoy a premium in-vehicle audio experience.

Silicon Labs developed the Si476x receiver series to reflect these major trends in the automotive industry. The Si476x receiver utilizes Silicon Labs' patented digital low IF technology and highly integrates conventional external materials onto a single CMOS chip. These receivers offer unprecedented flexibility through a modular structure scalable to multi-tuners. The Si476x supports all global radio broadcast bands, including AM/FM, University FM, Long Wave (LW), Short Wave (SW), and the NOAA Weather Band, providing unparalleled FM RDS decoding and AM/FM HD reception. Biquity Digital Corporation, an HD radio technology developer, has certified the Si476x family to provide AM/FM HD radio tuner output and reception compatible with HD radio demodulator ICs.

Jeff Jury, COO of iBiquity, said, “The launch of the Si476x series tuner means that global leaders in RF product supply and global HD radio market leaders can introduce new products. Automakers will continue to adopt HD radio technology, just as more than 20 automotive brands have announced related technologies through factory-installed and launch infotainment features to date.”

The Si476x series is the automotive industry's first practical alternative receiver that enables developers to combine best-in-class tuner ICs with audio digital signal processors (DSPs) for high-cost-effective backend audio designs. Silicon Labs also collaborated with leading semiconductor companies Cirrus Logic and Freescale Semiconductor to provide a comprehensive audio system solution that overcomes the expensive segmented approach required by existing car audio solutions.

Carl Alberty, Marketing Director of the Audio Product Family at Cirrus Logic, said, “By combining Cirrus Logic’s extensive audio IC portfolio with Silicon Labs’ Si476x radio ICs, we are able to provide automotive OEMs with a powerful platform for differentiated in-vehicle entertainment products. Through close collaboration with Silicon Labs, we have developed an optimized car audio platform that delivers best-in-class audio and RF technology to enable customers to manufacture excellent products.”

The integrated RF front-end of the Si476x tuner, featuring excellent linearity combined with a high-performance on-chip radio DSP and microcontroller, provides superior RF dynamic range as well as immunity to multipath fading. Through this innovative architecture, the Si476x series has taken key functions to the next level, such as separation sensitivity, sensitivity, third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD3) break-in, sensitivity suppression, noise cancellation, weak signal processing, dynamic channel band control, and top-tier dual tuner FM phase diversity reception performance.

Diwakar Vishakhadatta, Head of the Broadcast Audio Family at Silicon Labs, stated, “The Si476x family not only delivers optimal radio reception performance at the best system cost but also offers unprecedented flexibility in audio processing solutions for automotive radio designs. With the launch of the Si476x family, automotive developers will be able to move away from expensive audio bundle radio solutions that are unsuitable for audio processing on infotainment platforms.”

Product Price and Supply
The Si476x car radio tuner ICs are supplied in a 6 mm x 6 mm 40-pin QFN package, and both samples and production units are currently available. Pricing for the automotive Si476x tuner ICs starts at $11.62 for 10,000-unit orders. Evaluation boards for the Si4763LNA-A-EVB and Si4767PD-A-EVB are available to automotive manufacturers for $450.

Silicon Labs' latest automotive radio tuner, the Si476x, is an addition to the popular Si474x and Si475x tuner series, suitable for cost-sensitive entry-level and mid-range radio designs. The Si476x family meets the requirements of premium, high-performance automotive radios and head units. More detailed product information on the Si476x can be found at www.silabs.com/pr/automotive-tuner .