Lime Microsystems has unveiled the LMS6002, a multi-band multi-standard RF transceiver IC designed for femtocells and small cell basestations. The high frequency agile transceiver operates at user-selectable frequencies between 375MHz and 4GHz and is suitable for 3G, WiMAX and LTE standards. The transceiver silicon meets the femtocells' requirements in terms of interference, dynamic range, gain control and frequency agility. This is critical for the widespread deployment of the femtocell technology. The device offers considerable cost and inventory savings for OEMs.
The transceiver can be digitally configured to operate in the full range of frequency bands, with 16 user-selectable bandwidths of up to 28MHz. This denotes that it can transmit and receive data across all WCDMA and CDMA bands, as well as those used or planned for WiMAX and LTE. The need for individual transceiver chips for each of the different bands is eliminated and a small cell base station can be reconfigured rapidly and easily.
The device incorporates a multiplicity of RF inputs and outputs to enable features such as GSM listen mode required for femtocell operation. The device has a standard SPI (serial port interface) for programming and includes a provision for full calibration function. Fine tuning has resulted in additional performance optimisations. It allows the OEMs to use fewer peripheral components, further reducing the bill of materials and costs for femtocells. The device is packaged in a 9x9mm 116pin DQFN package and is available with an evaluation board and associated software.
