[SatNews] MaxLinear Inc. (NYSE: MXL) has announced the MxL80x, the industry’s first family of dual-polarity Ku-band satellite down-conversion ICs targeted for digital and universal analog low-noise block down-converter (LNB) applications.
Designed to exceed strict RF performance requirements from operators, the MxL80x devices are aimed at next-generation channel stacking and band translation LNBs, universal quad and quattro LNBs and wide-band LNBs. These advanced LNBs are essential for satellite operators to reduce system costs and deliver advanced multi-channel services over a single-cable infrastructure. The MxL80x ICs feature dual Ku-band radio-frequency inputs (10.7 to 12.75GHz) and dual wideband IF outputs (200 to 2350MHz) to dramatically simplify the LNB front-end design. The devices integrate the complete dual-polarity Ku-band down-conversion functionality including image reject filtering, down-conversion mixers, IF amplifiers, crystal oscillator and phase locked loop, and negative bias voltage generator for external low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). With this high-level of integration, the MxL80x significantly reduces the bill of material cost and the LNB board size when compared to existing discrete solutions. In addition, single-chip integration drastically reduces performance variation across parts and temperature and eliminates the need for factory tuning of the LNB front-end.
The MxL80x devices complement the MaxLinear MxL86x family of digital channel stacking system on chips (SoCs) for single and multi-feed LNB applications. The MxL862 is optimized for single-feed LNB and, combined with the wide-band MxL80x front-end, delivers a turnkey channel-stacking system solution that includes the protocol application software supporting the EN50494 and EN50607 single-cable standards. The MxL801 features wideband differential intermediate frequency (IF) outputs, the MxL802 supports wideband single-ended IF outputs, and the MxL803 features L-band single-ended IF outputs.
All MxL80x devices can be configured either using an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) interface or via programmable pins. The I2C configurability enables a highly optimized and flexible system solution when an MxL80x device is combined with an MxL86x SoC. MxL80x devices come with a comprehensive evaluation kit, allowing customers to exercise the complete Ku-band RF front-end from LNAs to IF with the ability to configure IF gain, LO frequency and LNA bias settings.
The MaxLinear infosite may be accessed at https://www.maxlinear.com/
