Maxim Integrated Products has released MAX2769E/W, the industry's first universal, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver chip for GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS navigation satellite systems in a single tested die, according to Maxim.

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As GPS baseband technology gets more integrated into the host processor with lower geometry CMOS processes, the need for a high-performance external GPS RFIC becomes more essential, said Maxim. Fulfilling this need, the MAX2769E/W high-performance RFIC provides a total cascaded noise figure of 1.4 dB and is designed for die-level integration into a single package. Consequently, this receiver is aimed at a wide range of consumer applications, including automotive navigation, asset tracking, cellular handsets, portable navigation devices (PNDs), digital cameras, laptops, and ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPCs).

Incorporated on the chip is a complete receiver chain, including a dual-input LNA and mixer, followed by an image-rejected filter, VGA, VCO, fractional-N frequency synthesizer, crystal oscillator, and a multibit analog-to-digital converter (ADC). As a result, the MAX2769E/W eliminates the need for external IF SAW filters, as well as an external LNA in passive antenna applications. So it requires only a few external components to form a complete, low-cost GPS receiver solution.

According to Maxim, the integrated delta-sigma fractional-N frequency synthesizer allows IF programming with ±40 Hz accuracy while operating with any reference or crystal frequency available in the host system. The on-chip ADC outputs one or two quantized bits for both I and Q channels, or three quantized bits for the I channel. Output data are available either at CMOS or limited-differential logic levels. It is designed to work with virtually all GPS baseband processors on the market, stated Maxim. Fully specified for operation over the -40 °C to +85 °C, the MAX2769E/W is available in a single tested-die, wafer-level (by request only), and 28-pin TQFN packages. Prices start at $2.95, in 1000 pieces and higher.