Company Microtune, Inc.

RF Technology

Microtune was founded in 1996 on a commitment to RF-IC innovation.  It pioneered the development of solid-state TV tuners and it is recognized for its superior core technology, engineering excellence and first-to-market products. The product portfolio includes tuners, tuner subsystems, amplifiers and upconverters.

Technology Milestones
Product Overview
Product Benefits
RF Centers for IC Excellence (U.S.)
RF Center for Excellence (Europe)

Technology Milestones

Backed by a specialized team of RF engineers and supported by advanced design/process capabilities, Microtune has established a number of RF silicon technology ‘firsts’.

  • Introduced world’s first silicon tuner
  • Introduced first-of-their-kind broadband amplifier products optimized for cable and automotive electronics applications
  • Introduced industry’s first cable upconverter based on highly integrated custom silicon
  • Introduced industry’s lowest-power, highest-performance silicon tuner
  • Introduced industry’s first 1-GHz silicon tuner
  • Introduced industry’s first silicon-based architecture for multi-tuner set-top boxes
  • Introduced industry’s first DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem tuner

Testifying to its technical accomplishments, Microtune has been granted 76 U.S. patents with 30 U.S. patent applications pending.

Product Overview
Microtune provides a market-proven, standards-based product portfolio of RF silicon and subsystem solutions and associated Evaluation Kits and Reference Designs. Forward-looking product roadmaps offer continued integration, price/performance, power efficiency and time-to-market advantages to customers.

Microtune’s flagship products, the MicroTuner™ single-chip tuners, were the industry's first broadband single-chip tuners implemented in silicon. Based on a patented RF-IC architecture, the company has continued to evolve its core tuner technology into products with smaller geometries, lower power, lower cost and greater performance. Now in their 10th generation, the company's newest MicroTuner tuners include the industry’s first 1-GHz silicon tuner and the industry’s lowest-power, high-performance single-chip tuner.

The IC tuner product line is supplemented by broadband amplifiers, antenna amplifiers and the industry's only silicon-based upconverters. These products provide complementary functions, helping to manage the RF signal across cable or terrestrial transmissions.

Microtune's subsystems modules, available for automotive, set-top box and television applications, are complete, tested and production-ready RF subsystems. They enable manufacturers to rapidly transition from design and development to full production.

Product Benefits

Microtune products are engineered to deliver the high performance required to meet the needs of advanced video, audio, data and/or voice applications transmitted via sophisticated broadband communications systems. The tuners provide the following benefits at prices consistent with the needs of the consumer electronics and automotive electronics marketplace:

  • Small form factor based on market-proven RF-IC architecture
  • Low RF bill-of-materials cost
  • Superior technical charateristics and performance
    • High channel selectivity by rejecting image and adjacent channel interference, permitting more efficient use of the RF spectrum
    • Low phase noise that allows reliable reception of digital content
    • Low distortion consistent with requirements of a cable systems with bandwidth that is fully utilized by concurrent analog and digital broadcasts;
    • Operation at a high frequency to fully utilize the available bandwidth of broadband systems
    • Low incidence of spurious emissions to enable the interconnection of multiple access devices
  • Compatibility with evolving industry standards, including the stringent performance and functionality requirements of the CableLabs® and FCC DCR, and ATSC A/74 standards
  • Compliance with worldwide reception standards and protocols
  • Flexible customization capability, permitting customers to add value for product differentiation
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Corporate Headquarters:
Microtune, Inc.
2201 Tenth Street
Plano, Texas 75074
Phone: 972.673.1600
Fax: 972.673.1602