Xicor Inc. (Milpitas, CA), a supplier of high-performance, mixed-signal integrated circuits, introduced the X90100 digitally programmable capacitor, which is designed to replace variable capacitors used to tune the frequency response of electronic systems up to 400MHz. The X90100 can be set to 1 of 32 discrete capacitor steps ranging from 7.5pF to 14.5pF in 0.20pF increments. Once the desired capacitor value is selected via an UP/DOWN interface it is stored in the on-chip EEPROM. The chip also has an integrated power-on-recall circuit that will restore the preset capacitor position from non-volatile memory during power-up.
The X90100 can be used in a variety of resonant tuning circuits where the programmable capacitive element provides a means for post-manufacturing trimming. Using the X90100 along with common capacitors allows oscillator and filter designs to be achieved with Q-values greater than 50. This product is targeted at the communications, industrial and consumer markets in applications such as sensors, RF transceivers and other various tuning applications from dc to 400MHz.
Production samples are available in eight-lead MSOP packaging with 1,000-unit prices starting at $1.05.
