MICREL DEBUTS LOW-COST ALTERNATIVE TO SUPERREGEN RECEIVERS.

Micrel Semiconductor (NASDAQ:MCRL), San Jose, Calif., has introduced the MICRF008 RF receiver, a low-cost alternative to discrete superregen receivers and one that eliminates the need for production tuning. Micrel Semiconductor is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of integrated circuits for the analog, power management, and high-speed communications markets.

The MICRF008 is the latest addition to Micrel's family of QwikRadio(TM) receivers. Intended as a replacement for superregen receivers, performance has been tailored to meet the needs of cost-conscious applications. This new device is the lowest-cost member of Micrel's QwikRadio(TM) family and, like all QwikRadio(TM) products, it achieves even lower cost of ownership by offering higher integration than all competing IC solutions. By incorporating a patented sweep mode, the MICRF008 has been designed to work with the cheapest, low accuracy transmitters. Sweep-mode enables these superheterodyne receivers to sweep a relatively wide RF bandwidth, in effect emulating the wide capture bandwidth of a superregen receiver.

"All QwikRadio(TM) receivers provide higher integration and lower cost of ownership than competing IC solutions, yet many manufacturers of the lowest cost applications continue to use discrete solutions despite their inherent problems associated with production trimming and long-term performance drift," said Scott Brown, business unit manager. "The MICRF008 is our response to the needs of those manufacturers," adds Brown

In thousand-piece quantities, the MICRF008 in 8-pin SOIC packaging is priced at $1.29 each. Samples are from stock, and an evaluation board is available.

Summary of Features

MICRF008 Sweep-Mode Receiver

-- 300MHz - 440MHz Frequency Range

-- 4.8kbps Max Data-Rate

-- Sweep-Mode Provides RF Capture Range of 9MHz

-- Highly Integrated

-- SOIC-8 Package

Micrel Semiconductor is a leading manufacturer of advanced, high performance communications, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver, mixed signal, analog and power ICs. These products include devices for fiber-optic telecommunications and networking, cellular telephones, servers, portable computer systems, computer peripherals, process control systems, consumer electronics and power supplies.

For more information, call 408-435-2406 or visit http://www.micrel.com.