Date: 08/11/2012

TI delivers first ultrasonic analog front end with digital demodulator

Texas Instruments has introduced a first-to-market analog front end (AFE) chips packing digital I/Q demodulation and continuous wave Doppler (CWD) processor for blood flow velocity measurement. Also the new AFE features selectable power/noise combinations.

Key features:
Reduced FPGA processing requirements: The on-chip digital demodulation results in less data throughput in the system and fewer LVDS traces, for a more cost effective design.
Integrated design with continuous wave (CW) mixer: Integrated CWD mixer and summing amplifier with a low close-in phase noise of -156 dBc/Hz at 1 KHz off of a 2.5-MHz carrier allows for blood flow velocity measurements.
TI claimd the AFE5809 features the industry's lowest noise of 0.75 nV/rtHz and lowest power consumption of 158 mW/channel. In addition, each 14-bit, 65 MSPS analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in the AFE5809 provides a 77-dBFS signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resulting in crisp image quality.
Preset profiles: Digital I/Q demodulator with up to 32 preset configuration profiles simplifies designs.
Programmable low-noise amplifier (LNA) with flexible active termination.
Maximum gain of 54 dB for better dynamic range.
12- and 14-bit, ADC with LVDS output of up to 65 MSPS.
Digital I/Q demodulator with a decimation factor of 1 to 64.
Programmable modes to optimize power and performance for various imaging modalities.
Low-frequency signal processing support (<100 KHz).

Availability and pricing: The AFE5809 is available now in a 15-mm by 9-mm, 135-pin BGA package for a suggested retail price of US$87 in quantities of 1,000.