RFaxis ramps up production of broadband Sub-GHz CMOS RFeIC
The company says it is now offering a complete portfolio of ultra-low-cost RF front-end solutions ranging from 600MHz to 6GHz for the Internet of Things
Fabless semiconductor company RFaxis has announced that it is ramping up production of the RFX1010, a highly-integrated broadband CMOS RF Front-end Integrated Circuit (RFeIC) to serve the ZigBee and Internet of Things (IoT) market segments that use the 600/700/800/900MHz "sub-GHz" frequency bands.
The addition of RFX1010 means RFaxis is now a one-stop-shop for the IoT / M2M wireless community with an entire family of ZigBee / ISM RF front-end solutions ranging from 600MHz to 6GHz.
902IP is the most recent ZigBee IP release from the ZigBee Alliance to support IPv6-based full wireless mesh networking solution to control low power, low cost devices, such as those for HEMS (Home Energy Management Systems) and ECHONET Lite in the 920MHz frequency band designated by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC).
Integrating a half-watt power amplifier (PA), low noise amplifier (LNA), antenna switch and all impedance matching networks into a single-chip/single-die CMOS device and assembled in a tiny 3 x 3mm QFN (Quad-Flat Non-Lead) package, the RFX1010 is suited for both 920IP, as well as the emerging IEEE 802.11ah standard based applications.
"By adding RFX1010, RFaxis now offers the industry's most comprehensive and high-performance RF front-end portfolio, at a price point utterly disruptive in the IoT / ZigBee market," says Mike Neshat, chairman and CEO of RFaxis.
"RFX1010 is a market-proven product that has passed the most rigorous, industrial-rating qualification by our strategic partners. We have already secured several design-wins with Tier-1 customers in North America and Asia. We applaud the most recent 920IP initiatives by the ZigBee Alliance, which we believe will accelerate the adoption of sub-GHz radio for the nascent HEMS and Smart Home/Smart Energy markets in Japan and the rest of the world."
The RFaxis IoT / M2M RFeIC portfolio now consists of RFX2401C and RFX2411 for 2.4GHz, RFX1010 for sub-GHz (600 - 900MHz), and RFX5000/RFX5000B for 5 - 6GHz frequency bands. The firm says these devices can work with all popular wireless standards including ZigBee, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, ANT, 6LoWPAN and other generic ISM or proprietary radios.
The company says they provide key RF functions, including the power amplifier (PA), low noise amplifier (LNA), as well as antenna switches that are needed to guarantee robust operating range and high receive sensitivity of any wireless system, even in the harshest RF environment.
Built upon RFaxis' patented single-chip/single-die RFeIC architecture and fabricated in industry-standard bulk CMOS technology, these RFeICs not only simplify RF designs, they could also provide a significant cost reduction compared with traditional GaAs or SiGe based RF front-end solutions.
All these RFeICs are available in bare die form, making it possible for wireless module manufacturers to design miniature System-in-Package or compact, pre-certified ZigBee / ISM modules. RFaxis says these bare dies are offered at an even lower price than their packaged counterparts which is more welcome news for hardware developers in the IoT/M2M ecosystem.
