30 November 2011

Skyworks shipping analog control ICs for Siemens Healthcare’s MRI scanners

Skyworks Solutions Inc of Woburn, MA, USA (which manufactures high-reliability analog and mixed-signal semiconductors) has begun volume shipments of analog control switches to Siemens Healthcare for its MAGNETOM magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.

Skyworks says that its devices allow Siemens to manufacture scanning equipment that is 50% more productive and easier for medical technicians to maneuver. The switches deliver low insertion loss, positive voltage operation and very low direct-current power consumption (all critical elements for MRI). Each scanner requires hundreds of switches.

Skyworks’ portfolio of low-noise amplifiers, Schottky and varactor diodes, attenuators and multi-throw switches are also supporting other wireless medical applications including blood sugar and heart monitors, pacemakers, and patient telemetry devices.

According to research and advisory firm Nerac, the number and variety of wireless medical devices is growing rapidly, driven by the expansion of wireless communication technology and the medical needs of an aging population. Wireless medical devices that monitor patients range from defibrillators to infusion pumps. According to Nerac’s ‘Wireless Medical Devices: Security Issues, Market Opportunities and Growth Trends’ article, by 2020 at least 160 million Americans alone will be monitored and treated remotely for at least one chronic condition. The market for such remote monitoring of patients is forecast to reach $5.1bn by 2013, up from $3.6bn in 2007.

“This design win is yet another example of how Skyworks’ analog portfolio is gaining traction across a wide array of end markets, demonstrating Skyworks’ success in diversifying into highly profitable, adjacent segments,” says Liam K. Griffin, executive VP & general manager of high-performance analog.

Skyworks’ product portfolio supporting medical applications switches such as the SKY13267-321LF (a GaAs T/R diversity switch), SKY13268-344LF (a GaAs SPDT switch) and SKY14151-350LF (a high-power SP4T switch with decoder); the SKY67014-396LF 1.5-3.0GHz low-power, active-bias low-noise amplifier (LNA); the SKY12348-350LF (a GaAs IC 4-bit digital attenuator); the SMV1233, SMV1236 and SMV1237 Series of hyperabrupt junction tuning varactor diodes for discrete devices; and the SMV1763-079LF (a silicon hyperabrupt junction varactor diode for 3V platforms).

Tags: Skyworks Analog control ICs

Visit: www.skyworksinc.com