Single-Chip COFDM Demodulator

STMicroelectronics, one of the world's leading suppliers of System-on-Chip solutions for digital TV and other digital consumer equipment, has introduced the STV0360, a single-chip COFDM (Coded Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) demodulator that includes an integrated high performance A/D Converter. Fully compliant with the European DVB-T specification (ETS 300 744), the STV0360 performs all of the demodulation functions required to extract the MPEG transport stream from the tuner IF output and connects seamlessly to ST's industry standard STi55xx OMEGA back-end chips.

The STV0360 has been designed to provide the industry's most cost-effective terrestrial TV front-end solution in a very small TQFP64 package. The integrated A/D Converter can handle up to 64 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulated) carriers in a Direct IF Sampling architecture, eliminating the need for a down-converter in the tuner. The device also includes a Programmable Gain Amplifier (PGA) before the ADC to compensate for SAW filter attenuation, so that no external IF amplifiers are required. In addition, integrated adaptive channel correction in both time and frequency provides excellent Doppler performance.

The STV0360 is built on ST's experience in broadcast demodulators and its pioneering role in the development of COFDM for terrestrial transmission of compressed video, sound, and data services," said Christos Lagomichos, Vice President and General Manager of ST's Set Top Box division. STMicroelectronics was a major contributor to the definition of the DVB-T standard and was the project leader in the European Union's DVBird (Digital Video Broadcasting Integrated Receiver-Decoder) pre-competitive R&D project.

Built using an advanced 0.18 micron CMOS process, the STV0360 supports 2K/8K carrier modes and operates from a 1.8V supply with a very low power consumption, making it ideal for all digital terrestrial TV and set-top box applications as well as mobile applications. Other key features such as automatic pre-echo resolution make the STV0360 ideal for Single-Frequency Network applications. The STV0360 supports 6, 7 and 8MHz channel bandwidths.

It embeds a dual Automatic Gain Controller (AGC) to ease the tuner design and includes an integrated I2C bus repeater feature that enhances the performances of the application. The STV0360 also includes an on-chip clock generator based on a low-cost external 27MHz crystal.

With the introduction of the STV0360, ST now offers a complete range of advanced front-end solutions for terrestrial, satellite and cable TV systems, all of which connect seamlessly to the STi55xx OMEGA back-end devices. Sampling now, the product will be available for $12 in 20k units.

STMicroelectronics, Inc., 1000 East Bell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85022-2699. Tel: 602-485-2666; Fax: 602-485-2486.