Micrel Launches New QwikRadio Low-Power UHF Receiver

New Chip Offers Increased Performance, Highest Level of Integration

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 17 -- Micrel Inc., , an industry leader in Power, Connect and Protect IC solutions, today launched the MICRF009, a QwikRadio(R) Low-Power UHF Receiver aimed at the automotive, industrial and consumer markets. The IC offers enhanced performance over other QwikRadio receivers by providing higher sensitivity and faster recovery from shutdown. The MICRF009 is currently shipping in volume quantities and is priced at $1.88 in 1K quantities.

"In the five years since Micrel released its first QwikRadio receiver, the product line has enjoyed rapid and enduring customer acceptance," said Scott Brown, director of Mixed-Signal and RF Products, Micrel. "We continue to work closely with customers and the MICRF009 is a direct result of this effort. The product addresses our customers' need for improved sensitivity and reduced start-up time -- among many other performance enhancements."

The IC features sensitivity typically 6dB higher than previous MICRF00x series chips. It also offers quicker recovery from shutdown, characteristically 1ms. The IC has a frequency range of 300 to 440 MHz, and a data rate up to 2.0kbps (Manchester encoding). The MICRF009 also provides designers with low power consumption (2.9mA fully operational; 315MHz). The chip comes in 16-pin SOIC packaging.

"Our mission for Micrel's line of RF ICs is to provide drop-in RF solutions with the highest possible integration, for virtually any manufacturer that wants to add this technology to a product," said Bob Whelton, executive vice president of Operations, Micrel. "Micrel's comprehensive suite of RF products, including the new MICRF009, enables designers to quickly and painlessly add this capability to a wide range of applications including automotive remote keyless entry, garage door and gate openers, and remote fan and light control."

Micrel Inc., 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 telecommunications and networking, cellular telephones, servers, portable computer systems, computer peripherals, process control systems, consumer electronics and power supplies. Website: www.micrel.com.

NOTE: QwikRadio(R) is a trademark of Micrel Semiconductor. The QwikRadio ICs were developed under a development agreement with AIT of Orlando, FL.