Miniaturization record in CDMA IF filters Munich, Germany, 10th August/News Aktuell-AsiaNet/ -- Mobile communication terminals are becoming not only more and more intelligent, but smaller as well, thanks to progressive miniaturization of components. EPCOS is now the world's first manufacturer of surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters to make IF filters with a footprint of only 9 x 5 mm for mobile phones to the IS-95 CDMA standard operating in the AMPS band. A year ago, sizes of 13 x 6.5 mm were still common. CDMA (code division multiple access) is a standard used in North America, Japan and Korea, which currently have the world's fastest-growing mobile radio systems. The miniaturized IF filters can be seen as a technological breakthrough for EPCOS in the hotly contested CDMA market and highlight the company's drive for leadership in this segment. Intermediate-frequency filters separate the various speech channels (of 1.26 MHz bandwidth) to provide a filtered signal for conversion to digital code. They are key components of receivers in CDMA systems in particular. Implementation of miniaturized, high-performance IF filters is based on innovative designs that produce filter characteristics on a par with those of large filters despite their considerably smaller chip size. Thanks to the multiband capability of this filter class (currently covering the frequency range from 80 to 200 MHz), multistandard terminals for CDMA systems can be implemented for the first time, while the reduced footprint supports the rapidly growing trend toward miniaturization in the mobile radio market. In addition to the new filters for the AMPS band, EPCOS has been producing IF filters measuring only 5 x 5 mm for CDMA mobiles in the PCS band for several months. Currently the world's smallest filters for CDMA, these innovative products underline EPCOS' technological leadership. "We have taken a major step toward extension of our product portfolio", said Joachim Niestroj, Executive Vice President of the Surface Acoustic Wave Components Division. "The new IF filters emphasize EPCOS' role not only as a leader in technology, but also as a supplier of high-performance, customer-specific solutions in all major segments of the mobile communications market." Contact: Christoph Jehle Corporate Communications EPCOS AG St.-Martin-Str. 53 P.O. Box 80 17 09 D-81617 Munich Tel 49 89 636-24615 Fax 49 89 636-22471 [email protected] SOURCE: EPCOS AG -END-