STMicroelectronics(NYSE) has revealed a new chip for faster wireless networking with smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. The innovation enables designers to save space and power consumption allowing more features and longer battery life.
ST’s new DIP2450 diplexer is used to connect a Wi-Fi IC to a single antenna hence simplifying circuitry and saving pc-board space. It can also connect a Bluetooth IC to the same antenna. Leveraging ST’s Integrated Passive Device (IPD) process technology, the DIP2450 has extremely small dimensions of only 1.1 x 1.25 mm and passes signals efficiently enabling high-speed communications and low power consumption.
The DIP2450 supports the latest high-speed dual-band Wi-Fi standard (IEEE 802.11n), permitting multi-channel communications in the 5GHz band, in addition to the established 2.4GHz operation. This allows extra user capacity as well as higher data rates per user. Handsets with IEEE 802.11n have achieved speeds of more than 60 Mbps, which is higher than the world’s best average broadband Internet connection speeds of around 50 Mbps recorded in countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.
The complete solution lowers power consumption for extended battery life, saves pc-board space, and reduces component count. The DIP2450-01D3 is in mass production now in the 1.1 x 1.25 mm 4-bump wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP), priced from $0.12 for orders over 1,000 pieces.
