TI Korea ( www.ti.com/ww/kr ) January 27, 2012 – TI announced the industry's highest-speed, highest-performance analog front end (AFE) for femtocell base stations and portable software-defined radio (SDR) applications. The low-power, 12-bit AFE7225 integrates dual 125MSPS analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and dual 250MSPS digital-to-analog converters (DACs). It operates 25% faster than competitors while increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by up to 2dB and providing up to five times the DAC output current. (For more information on the new AFE and to order samples, please visit www.ti.com/afe7225-prkr )

In addition to the AFE7225, the 12-bit AFE7222 is also available for relatively low-bandwidth, power-sensitive applications. It integrates dual 65MSPS ADCs and dual 130MSPS DACs and uses only 398mW in dual-duplex receive mode and 212mW in half-duplex receive mode under full-speed conditions.

Both the AFE7225 and AFE7222 integrate digital signal processing performance improved over similar AFEs, allowing for more flexible product development. These products are mixed-signal AFEs that provide standalone transmit/receive functions, a 32-bit NCO (numerically controlled oscillator), serial LVDS input/output options, and standalone transmit/receive quadrature modulation correction functions for gain, phase, and offset imbalance.

AFE7225 and AFE7222 Key Features and Benefits
• Low Power Consumption: In Deep-Sleep mode, it consumes only 12mW of power while supporting a wake-up time of just 13µs, and in Light-Sleep mode, it consumes a minimum of 120mW of power while supporting a wake-up time of 5µs.
• High performance for clearer signals: For 3G W-CDMA cellular signals, the dual ADC achieves 70dB SNR, and the dual DAC has an adjacent channel leakage ratio of 75dB.
• Signal processing features that reduce FPGA gate count requirements, interface speed, and cost: Both products provide standalone transmit/receive digital block up and down conversion capabilities, 2x to 4x interpolation, 2x decimation, coarse and 32-bit NCO frequency mixers, digital compensation for gain, phase, and offset for quadrature modulation transmit/receive, peak/rms power meters, and more.
• Integrated features that reduce system costs: Dual 12-bit auxiliary DACs and dual-input 12-bit auxiliary ADCs eliminate the need for separate monitoring and control devices, saving board space, power, and cost.
• Flexibility for designers: Digital DAC inputs and ADC outputs can be configured for serial LVDS, reducing pin/trace count and enabling support for long trace signals / Can be configured for multiplexed 12-bit CMOS for low-power interfaces, allowing for full duplex or one or two digital buses for two buses.Half-duplex receive mode support for

The AFE7225 and AFE7222 can be used in heterodyne or direct-conversion radio architectures. For heterodyne radio, a single DAC channel of the AFE can be used to generate intermediate frequencies up to approximately 100 MHz, and a single ADC channel can be used to acquire IFs of 300 MHz or higher. To conserve power, unused channels are shut down. For femtocell base stations, the AFE provides macro-cell performance when combined with high-quality RF components such as the TRF372017 IQ Modulator and TRF371125 IQ Demodulator, which provide local oscillators.