STMicroelectronics introduces new STAR Tuner IC

     STMicroelectronics introduced the new STAR(ST Advanced Radio) series of tuner integrated circuits (ics). The IC helps automotive radio manufacturers achieve the goal of maximizing product development efficiency and minimizing end-product costs. The STAR-T(TDA7707, dual channel) and STAR-S(TDA7708, mono) devices provide a scalable Terrestrial radio-receiver platform for automotive Radio manufacturers.

     For the first time, the new product enables customers to design multiple products at the same time, eliminating the need to use multiple different hardware and software, and using a single hardware platform to meet the needs of all market segments and regions. The STAR family of products allows customers to develop a variety of different automotive radio products with a single board layout, from the most basic mono AM/FM to advanced Multi-tuner and multi-standard (DAB/HD-RadioTM/DRM-ready) architectures.

     The TDA7707 is a single-chip dual-channel Quad-band tuner that supports a variety of radio architectures, including FM Phase Diversity, FM+ background FM/AM, and FM/AM+ background RDS/TMC. With an external Co-processor attached, the product still supports digital radio broadcasting standards such as HD-RadioTM and DAB. The TDA7708 is the mono product of the platform, fully compatible with the hardware (pin docking) and software of other products, and can be easily upgraded to dual-channel systems.

     Both products are available in a QFN64(9 x 9 x 0.85 mm (mm)) miniature package that delivers the highest reception quality of voice digital Signal processor (DSP) intensive radio signal processing in any environment, with minimal external component List of materials (BOM) and external digital radio decoder interfaces.