What are Silicon Tuners?

What are Silicon Tuners?

Tuners receive audio/video programming via an RF broadcast, then select a single channel from the available channels on the broadcast. The broadcast can be over-the-air (terrestrial), cable, or satellite. Next, tuners convert the RF signals into a lower, more workable frequency. Silicon tuners are highly integrated circuits that provide this functionality in a single chip.

Let’s look at some of the advantages of silicon tuners. Ultimately, silicon tuners enable a lower overall system cost. CAN tuners are still competing today; however, they will soon run out of room for further price reductions. In addition, silicon tuners have a much smaller footprint, which allows you to use them in new, more portable applications.

During “end product” production, silicon tuners can run through a standard factory flow, so no hand-soldering is required and they can go though double-sided reflow. Silicon tuners do not require time-consuming manual tuning of coils to provide image rejection. Power estimation calibration time is minimal. For example, one customer reduced calibration time from 2 minutes to 10 seconds using a Gen2 Silicon Tuner. They meet DOCSIS power estimation specifications, and selfdiagnostics can further reduce test time.

Finally, silicon tuners reduce costs because they perform consistently; there is little channel-to-channel variation in performance, and they do not degrade over time. 3 Silicon