MaxLinear Cuts Power and Size of Cable Gateways with New Dual-Channel Tuner and QAM Demod IC

MxL251 Replaces Two Tuners & Two Demodulators In Gateway Designs That Feature up to Six Channels; Digital CMOS Technology Delivers Low Power and Small Size

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MaxLinear Inc., (NYSE: MXL) a leading provider of integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband communication applications, today announced the MxL251, a cable TV front end chip with dual tuners and dual QAM demodulators that cuts in half the number of tuners needed for multi-channel DOCSIS and cable video gateways.

Many of today's cable video set-top-box and emerging gateway designs feature up to four or even six dedicated video channels. These devices require a multiple tuner-demodulator (also called an MPEG tuner) IC.

Developed in standard digital 65nm digital CMOS process, the MxL251 is a single-die digital front-end chip with two narrow-band RF tuners (6 or 8MHz), two QAM demodulators and an integrated splitter to support dual- or triple tuner designs. The device supports all global cable standards including ITU-T J.83 Annex A/B/C. The tuner can receive one RF coaxial cable input and delivers two MPEG transport stream outputs or two channels on an intermediate frequency (IF) output. The integration of discrete tuners, demodulators, external RF splitter and loop through elements significantly reduce PCB board size, external component costs, and vastly simplifies design.

The new part replaces the popular MxL241SF - which was the industry's first single-die, integrated tuner and QAM demodulator "CMOS MPEG Tuner" IC - in these applications with the same advanced performance and features, but with reduced power consumption and board space requirements. No other frontend chip allows for the low power and compact designs achievable with the MxL251.

The MxL251 is packaged in a compact 7mm x 7mm 48-pin QFN package and consumes 700mW of power for the combined two channel reception mode, along with a battery operation mode of 350mW, which allows manufacturers to provide only two battery cells for back up instead of three or four cells with current implementations.

"The MxL251 once again shows the advantages of MaxLinear's core wideband CMOS RF-mixed signal IC technology platform, which is ideally suited for developing the lowest power and smallest size RF-demodulator multiple-channel SoC solutions that deliver industry-leading functionality and performance," said Kishore Seendripu, MaxLinear's CEO. "The front end chip is one of the most important components in a gateway, and the MxL251, with its integration of discrete ICs and expensive external discrete components on the PCB, along with significant size reductions can unleash new creativity in gateway design and price."

With its ultra-low power consumption, the MxL251 has no special heat dissipation requirements, which saves cost on fans, heat shields, heat sinks, etc. This also helps designers to meet the system power consumption levels needed to comply with the U.S. Energy Star code of conduct for both standby and operating modes.

In Oct. 2010, MaxLinear announced another member of its cable frontend family, the MxL261, a dual-tuner, quad demodulator digital cable front end chip with the ability to capture eight channels in a 200MHz input frequency bandwidth located in the cable spectrum. The MxL251 rounds out the cable product family and is pin-compatible with the MxL261.

The MxL251 is sampling today and will be generally available in the second quarter of 2011.

About MaxLinear, Inc.

MaxLinear, Inc. is a leading provider of radio frequency and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for broadband communication applications. MaxLinear is located in Carlsbad, California, and its address on the Internet is www.maxlinear.com.

MxL and the MaxLinear logo are trademarks of MaxLinear, Inc. Other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements concerning or implying MaxLinear's future financial performance, trends and opportunities affecting MaxLinear, or performance, potential market acceptance, or timing of availability of MaxLinear's new products. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. MaxLinear's expectations concerning its MxL251 chip may not be realized, and the market for the MxL251 may not develop as MaxLinear currently anticipates. MaxLinear cannot predict its future rates of revenue growth, if any. MaxLinear's business, revenues, and operating results are and will be subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including (among others) uncertainties concerning how end user markets for its products will develop; potential delays in the commercial availability of new products; MaxLinear's dependence on a limited number of customers for a substantial portion of revenues; its ability to continue to develop and introduce new and enhanced products on a timely basis; and potential decreases in average selling prices for its products. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, investors should review the risks and uncertainties contained in MaxLinear's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including risks and uncertainties identified in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC in October 2010.

    Source: MaxLinear Inc.

Released November 4, 2010