Silicon Labs, together with Avnet Memec EMEA present the new Si4702/03 FM tuner products build on the success of the Si4700/01, and reduces required board space to only 10 mm.

Leveraging Silicon Laboratories' proven digital low intermediate frequency (low-IF) receiver architecture and frequency synthesizer technology, the Si470x family delivers superior RF performance and interference rejection. Digital signal processing is utilized to provide optimum sound quality with varying reception conditions. The high integration and complete system production test simplifies design-in, increases quality, and improves manufacturing. The Si470x family also uses a streamlined programming model, which further reduces product development time. Power management is simplified with an integrated regulator allowing direct connection to a 2.7 to 5.5 V battery. Offering unmatched integration, the Si470x family allows FM radio reception to be added to a variety of portable devices where board space, performance, low power consumption, and ease of use are essential.

The Si4701 and Si4703 incorporate a digital processor for the European Radio Data System (RDS) and the US Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) including all required symbol decoding, block synchronization, error detection, and error correction functions. Using this feature, the Si4701 and Si4703 enable data such as station identification and song name to be displayed to the user.

In addition, the economic cost model pursued by Silicon Labs means that these devices can be used in more simple applications where the RDS function can be employed to provide a real time clock.

The USB FM Radio Reference Design is a unique example of Silicon Laboratories' mixed-signal leadership. This reference design combines a high-performance USB enabled microcontroller (C8051F321) and the revolutionary single-chip FM Radio Tuner (Si4701). Plug it in your PC's USB port and launch the Radio Player software to listen to your favorite radio station right on your PC. This reference design easily allows you to transfer this capability to your own embedded design.