MaxLinear debuts satellite receiver IC with extended L-Band

MaxLinear Debuts MxL582 Satellite Receiver With Extended L-Band Technology For Lower-Cost and Lower-Power Satellite Gateways

LAS VEGAS — CES — MaxLinear Inc. (NYSE: MXL), a leading provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communications applications, today announced the MxL582, an eight-channel Full-Spectrum Capture™ (FSC™) tuner-demodulator supporting Extended L-Band (XL-Band) for DVB-S/S2 satellite home media gateways and set-top boxes (STB).

Traditionally, the entire 4.1GHz satellite spectrum available at the satellite dish antenna or outdoor unit (ODU) has been delivered to the home utilizing four coaxial cables, which connect the low-noise block downconverter (LNB) in the ODU to the set-top-box receiver inside the home. Each coaxial cable only carried approximately 1 GHz of spectrum in the L-band (950 MHz to 2150 MHz) constrained by the satellite set-top-box receiver’s ability to receive RF signals in the L-band only.

MaxLinear’s MxL582 is a dual-input RF receiver capable of receiving 2 GHz of Extended L-band spectrum (300 MHz to 2350 MHz) at each RF input. By extending the capture bandwidth of each of the receiver’s RF inputs to 2.05 GHz, MaxLinear’s XL-Band technology allows satellite operators to deliver 4.1GHz of spectrum from a low-cost wideband LNB to a MxL582-based gateway or set-top receiver utilizing only two cables.

As a result, operators are able to realize a significant reduction in the overall system cost and power consumption associated with the rollout of next generation multi-channel gateway boxes and services.

The eight-channel MxL582 Full-Spectrum Capture receiver provides the highest level of integration with eight integrated DVB-S/S2 demodulators, on-chip LNAs and RF-splitter, and configurable transport stream multiplexing capability over parallel or serial interfaces.

The eight demodulators are capable of tuning or receiving channels over the entire 4.1GHz of spectrum present at the dual RF inputs of the chip. Further, the MxL582’s integrated RF splitter enables STB makers to develop scalable platforms supporting up to 16 channels by pairing two MxL582 devices via the splitter, without utilizing any additional expensive external active components.

The low power and power control flexibility of the MxL582 enables compliance with Energy Star and the European Code of Conduct for Digital TV Services and Broadband Equipment for both standby and operating modes. The lower power also reduces the cost of gateway systems by precluding the need for expensive thermal mitigation requirements seen in earlier designs.

“The satellite industry is aggressively rolling out next-generation multi-channel services, and our XL-Band technology enables this transition at a much lower system cost,” said Yves Rasse, MaxLinear’s Senior Director of Satellite & Terrestrial TV Product Lines. “MaxLinear has been at the forefront of enabling the satellite industry to be able to deliver multi-screen viewing, time-shift recording or viewing, and fast channel-change capability. Our MxL582 multiple-input, multiple-channel receiver SoC expands that legacy by combining our proven high-performance FSC technology with our brand new XL-Band capture capability.”

Technical Highlights

The MxL582 is part of the MxL500 family of ultra-low power 40-nm satellite Full-Spectrum Capture™ receivers that enable cost-effective and flexible multi-channel gateway and multi-switch solutions.

The MxL582 supports two Full-Spectrum Capture RF inputs, each capable of capturing the whole XL-Band spectrum, from 300 MHz to 2350 MHz, and integrates eight DVB-S/S2 demodulators.

The device integrates all active front-end components, including low-noise amplifiers (LNA) and RF splitter into a compact and cost-effective 10 mm x10 mm QFN package. It supports a configurable transport stream interface compatible with the leading MPEG decoder SoCs. The high level of system integration dramatically simplifies system design and minimizes the bill of material (BOM) in end applications to few low-cost, passive components and a crystal.

Availability

The MxL582 is now in full production and available through MaxLinear’s worldwide sales force.