Texas Instruments has introduced a family of fully integrated analogue front ends (AFEs) for portable to ultrasound diagnostic equipment. TI's AFE58xx family will allow the design of ultrasound systems with good image quality and reduced power consumption. The AFE5805 addresses the specific needs of the portable ultrasound market with space savings, low power consumption and low noise.
The AFE5805 is a complete analogue signal chain solution specifically designed for portable ultrasound systems, which require low power and small size while maintaining the high resolution. By reducing component count, the AFE5805 decreases power consumption with 122 mW per channel power efficiency and offers reduced noise. With the low noise feature of 0.85 nV/rtHz at 2 MHz, the AFE5805 achieves a performance suitable for portable equipment and also for high channel density mid-range ultrasound systems.
The device integrates eight channels of a low-noise amplifier (LNA), voltage controlled attenuator, programmable gain amplifier, low-pass filter, and 12-bit, 50 MSPS analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) with LVDS data outputs. The AFE5805 is available with a 15 mm by 9 mm package. The low input voltage noise level of the on-chip LNA is key to the quality of the complete input signal path and determines the entire system performance, including the high resolution. The AFE5805 is available in a 15 mm x 9 mm, 135-pin BGA package. Samples are available now, with volume production scheduled for June 2008.
