Date: 08/10/2009

New active AM/FM antenna IC from Atmel for car antenna apps

Atmel has launched the ATR4252, a new AM/FM antenna amplification IC with built-in Automatic Gain Controls (for both AM and FM receivers), antenna detection, a power supply regulator and additional pre-integrated peripherals. The ATR4252 is for car applications, and is suitable for active antennas located in several positions on the car such as bumpers, windscreen, mirrors or windows.

This IC also addresses antenna types such as window, pole or shark fin antennas with its small 4 x 5 mm footprint.

The other key features of the ATR4252 IC include,

Integrated driver for AM and FM PIN diodes
Separated AM LNA, AM buffer and FM amplifier
High Intercept Point 3rd Order for FM, 2nd and 3rd Order for AM
FM amplifier adjustable to various cable impedances
Low noise output voltage
Low output impedance AM
Large AM frequency range to cover DRM broadcast signals

"Active antenna designs using ICs are becoming more popular since they offer many advantages over discrete solutions," said Carsten Friedrich, Marketing Manager for Car Radio ICs at Atmel Corporation. "With the introduction of Atmel's new device, designers can now develop different active AM/FM antennas with excellent performance fast and easily."

Package: QFN24 package
Price: Starts at $0.98 for 100k pieces
Availability: Now in samples

For more details visit www.atmel.com

Editorial product rating: Significant