Industry’s First Production-Ready, Single-Chip, 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz WiMAX RF Transceiver Saves 50% BOM Cost

Industry's First Production-Ready, Single-Chip, 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz WiMAX RF Transceiver Saves 50% BOM Cost

Maxim Integrated Products (Pink Sheets: MXIM) introduces the MAX2838, the industry's first single-chip WiMAX™ RF transceiver in high-volume production. This device eliminates the costly SAW filter and extra VCO circuitry required by existing superheterodyne solutions, thus saving 50% BOM cost, significant component count, and board space. Ideal for low-cost, 802.16d/802.16e WiMAX CPE products operating in the 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz band, the MAX2838 enables affordable wireless broadband services in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), as well as in Western Europe, Australia, and Canada.

Whereas superheterodyne solutions require an external SAW filter for channel filtering, the MAX2838 saves space and BOM cost by integrating monolithic baseband filters for both the receiver and transmitter. An SPI™-compatible interface enables electronic programming of channel filtering to support multiple channel bandwidths from 1.5MHz to 28MHz. This wide range of bandwidth support allows one radio BOM to support virtually all geographic markets where channel bandwidths differ according to each country's spectrum regulations.

Designed using Maxim's in-house, high-performance SiGe BiCMOS process, the MAX2838 provides the industry's best receiver performance. It features a low 2.8dB receiver noise figure, -11dBm input IP3, and -39dBc integrated VCO phase noise, while consuming only 288mW of power. The receiver has a 94dB gain-control range, digitally controlled in 2dB steps. Receiver EVM is better than -35dB, and sideband suppression is > 45dB.