EDGE Cellular Radio Transceiver - BCM2085 - Broadcom

Broadcom announces the BCM2085 EDGE cellular RF transceiver. This single-chip solution is designed in a 65nm CMOS process. Combining low power, high integration and low cost, the BCM2085 is compatible with all DigRF-compliant basebands, enabling lower cost and reducing the RF board area by more than 50 percent for EDGE mobile devices.

EDGE is currently operating on nearly 200 networks worldwide and represents the next step on the evolutionary path to third generation (3G) cellular services. With data rates up to three times the capacity of old GPRS networks, EDGE allows the delivery of advanced mobile services such as the downloading of video and music clips, full multimedia messaging, high-speed color Internet access and email on-the-go.

The BCM2085 EDGE transceiver also includes the analog baseband and DigRF interface. A novel polar transmit architecture is employed to provide low transmit power, eliminate any filters in the transmit path and use standard linear power amplifiers readily available from multiple sources.

According to market research firm iSupply, EDGE represents the single largest segment of the mobile phone market with 470 million units expected to ship in 2010. Additionally, market analysts expect the standalone RF transceiver market to approach $6 billion by 2010.

The transceiver includes Broadcom's SmartRadio technology, which employs continuous real-time calibration techniques. SmartRadio delivers superior radio performance in a pure digital CMOS process without baseband intervention, enabling RF performance typically previously achieved only by radios that use more expensive specialty silicon processes. Broadcom's SmartRadio technology was originally developed and deployed in the company's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, which have been field proven in hundreds of millions of transceivers for over 5 years. As a result, the BCM2085 will accelerate customers' time to market by simplifying design while ensuring a robust solution for manufacturing.

Samples BCM2085 EDGE RF transceiver are available this month, In a 4mm x 4mm BGA package. Price for  volume quantities is $5.00 (100K).

Source: Broadcom