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Silicon tuner reduces system costs and delivers enhanced performance

NXP Semiconductors has announced the TDA20142, the satellite silicon tuner addressing the requirements of both FTA (free-to-air) and operator satellite STB (set-top box) applications. The tuner also reduces system cost through reduced (BoM) bill of materials. FTA tuners require high sensitivity, but often ignore linearity. Operator tuners, on the other hand, do not require the same sensitivity as FTA tuners, but need high linearity. The tuner was designed to provide enhanced RF performance in both areas. The device’s low noise figure of typically 5.5dB means enhanced sensitivity for FTA applications, while its IIP3 of typically +10dBm means high linearity for operator applications. At the same time, each application benefits from the enhanced performance provided by optimisations in the other. Because the tuner addresses both high and low ends of the power spectrum, it has a dynamic range of approximately 100dB. To achieve the sensitivity required by FTA applications, it is very common for STB makers to use an external LNA (Low Noise Amplifier).

By integrating this FTA LNA and loopthrough, the tuner reduces the BoM for STB manufacturers, while reducing the complexity of these designs. The tuner further reduces BoM by including a flexible crystal oscillator and buffered clock output with optional dividers, With this feature, STB designers can reduce BoM costs by sharing crystal clocks between multiple ICs. The benefits delivered through the STB value chain are significant. With the tuner, set-top box manufacturers can use a single reference design for all single satellite applications, reducing costs and avoiding the need to source and stock LNAs and multiple types of tuners.